It is abundantly clear that there can be no more delays in constructing new infrastructure to meet the nation's future water needs.
If there was any lingering doubt, it is abundantly clear that there can be no more delays in constructing new infrastructure to meet the nation's future water needs.
Recently, there have been reports of 160,000 people in the south of England being perilously close to losing water supplies during summer 2022. Southern Water has confirmed it will be extending its reliance on emergency drought measures until at least the mid-2030s and the National Infrastructure Commission has made clear its views on the topic (see below). The balance between protecting the environment by reducing the volume of water abstracted from sensitive catchments versus ensuring that homes and businesses continue to have plentiful supplies of water when needed is an increasingly difficult one, such that an equilibrium will be increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to maintain without significant additional measures. Population growth and the impact of climate change are both adding significant pressures to this balance.
In 2022, Sir John Armitt, Chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission, commented that we need to provide an additional four billion litres of water per day by 2050 in England alone to avoid extreme drought.
Quick-win steps towards achieving this are reducing leakage; about 20 per cent of water is lost through leaks in the public system and in private pipes, and reducing demand for water where possible; average use needs to fall by about 35 litres per person per day, roughly the amount of water used by a power shower in two-and-a-half minutes, to 110 litres.
However, in addition to reducing leaks and demand, Sir John advises that we need to invest seriously in new reservoirs and transfer infrastructure. The National Infrastructure Commission has calculated that more than £20bn of investment in new infrastructure is needed over the next 30 years. The alternative – doing nothing and hoping for the best – is a likely bill of £40bn over the next 30 years for emergency maintenance and water supplies.
In August 2023, following submission of Water Resource Management Plans, Sir John reiterated that we need to see a robust twin track approach of cutting demand through reducing leakage and consumer use and building new water infrastructure. He stated that the NIC's modelling shows that cutting leaks and reducing demand alone isn't sufficient, there has to be significant investment in a broad mix of new infrastructure, including reservoirs, transfer networks, recycling and desalination plants.
He stated, "We've already called for funding for new infrastructure and for leakage and demand reduction programmes to be included in Ofwat's upcoming price review settlement. But with no new reservoirs built in the last three decades, there is a lot of catching up to do: that's why reform of the planning system to reduce the time it takes for major projects to get planning consent cannot wait any longer. Without it, the infrastructure set out in these plans may not be in place by the 2030s, increasing the likelihood of more droughts like we saw last year and greater environmental damage."
The National Drought Group has also called for greater investment in water infrastructure, to safeguard supplies in future years.
The good news is that new infrastructure is planned. Defra's April 2023 National Policy Statement for Water Resources Infrastructure confirms the need for, and sets out government policies to achieve, the development of nationally significant infrastructure projects for water resources in England. The various Water Resource Management Plans propose in total nine new reservoirs over the next 25 years, alongside various new desalination plants, water recycling plants, reservoir extensions and water transfers. These projects represent a step change in planned construction compared to the last 30 years, during which time no new public water supply reservoirs have been built, and only one desalination plant, one recycling plant and one reservoir extension have been completed.
The solution to our imminent water resource shortfall appears to be a no-brainer. However, as ever in the current economic climate, affordability is a critical issue. It will be for government, the regulators and the companies to seek to square that circle.
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