4 days Ago By Tom Bawden
The south-east of England faces a 2.5 billion litre-a-day shortfall in its water supply within 25 years as population growth pushes up demand and climate change reduces supply, Government figures show. That is the equivalent of more than 1 million wheelie bins full of water a day.
According to the Environment Agency, the south-east is expected to be hit the hardest by looming water shortfalls, which are forecast to total 5 billion litres a day across England by 2050.if(window.adverts) { window.
adverts.addToArray({"pos": "inread-hb-ros-inews"}); }This is more than a third of the 14 billion litres of water used across the UK every day.In the south-east of England, the 2.
5 billion litre shortfall will be nearly half of the region’s present use of 6 billion litres a day.The five regions which will be the worst hit by water shortages Water companies have drawn up plans to tackle the shortages amid fears over looming droughts in the next 25 years.However, concerns that local authorities, the government, and regulators are not doing nearly enough to prevent significant shortages are mounting.
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addToArray({"pos": "mpu_tablet_l1"}); }Water shortages are also expected before 2050 unless significant steps are taken to increase supplies.At current supply levels, the south-east of England will face a shortage of 876 million litres a day by 2030, with England as a whole facing a 1.48 billion shortfall.
The deficit is expected to rise to 1.7 billion litres in the south-east and 3 billion litres nationally by 2040.A new report by the National Audit Office on Friday found that “government and the regulators have failed to drive sufficient investment in the water sector” to ensure the necessary steps are taken to avoid water shortages.
Although there is no national plan, 30 major water supply projects are in development, including nine reservoirs and seven sewage recycling facilities, which the regulator Ofwat estimates will cost about £52bn to build in total.#color-context-related-article-3658222 {--inews-color-primary: #5C909D;--inews-color-secondary: #EFF4F5;--inews-color-tertiary: #5C909D;} Read Next square SEWAGE .inews__post__label__save-britains-rivers{background-color: #5ba1d4;color: #ffffff;}Save Britain's RiversFinally, water bosses will face jail for sewage spill cover-upsRead MoreThere are even question marks over whether that would be enough to avert water scarcity, as the water companies aim to make up almost half of the 5 billion litre shortfall through reductions in demand by using water more efficiently and metering, which encourages lower water use.
“Given the unprecedented situation facing the sector, Defra and the regulators need to act urgently to address industry performance and resilience to ensure the sector can meet government targets,” said Gareth Davies, head of the NAO.if(window.adverts) { window.
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adverts.addToArray({"pos": "mpu_tablet_l2"}); }Alastair Chisholm, director of policy at the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM), added: “Those water-saving targets are ambitious.“But then you have to look at how ambitious comparatively all the other measures are, given in the same timescale we’re needing to build 9 or 10 new reservoirs, other major infrastructure, and make really significant leakage reductions.
None of that is easy or has been done at the level in the proposed programmes before,” he told The i Paper.Of the 5 billion litre shortfall in England, 1.2 billion litres are due to the growing population, and 642 million litres are a result of climate change – changing rainfall patterns and increased evaporation from rising temperatures.
Other factors include growing business needs and the need to reduce the amount of water taken from rivers and groundwater supplies, which is already at unsustainable levels.An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “We recognise the significant challenges facing the water industry.”“We have worked closely with the National Audit Office in producing this report and welcome its substantial contribution to the debate on the future of water regulation.
”A Water UK spokesperson said: “We’re calling for more direction from Government on the outcomes it wants from the sector and regulation to be reformed so it is simpler and decisions are made faster.”Ofwat said it would continue “to contribute to the Independent Water Commission’s wider review of the regulatory framework”..
