This is equivalent to a third of the country’s current daily water use – or the volume of 4.5 Wembley Stadiums – while a further one billion litres will need to be found to generate energy, grow food, and power emerging tech.
The EA expects 40% of the deficit to be addressed by boosting supply, such as building new reservoirs, while the remaining 60% would come from water companies managing demand and dramatically reducing leaks.
This will include installations of smart water meters in homes to help customers understand their usage, as well as more hosepipe bans. England has already this year experienced its driest March, April and May since 1893, and there is a ‘medium risk’ of a drought this summer without sustained rainfall.
“The nation’s water resources are under huge and steadily increasing pressure,” said EA chair Alan Lovell. “This deficit threatens not only the water from your tap but also economic growth and food production.
“Taking water unsustainably from the environment will have a disastrous impact on our rivers and wildlife. We need to tackle these challenges head-on and strengthen work on coordinated action to preserve this precious resource and our current way of life.”
The analysis is outlined in the EA’s five yearly National Framework for Water Resources report, which sets out the actions required by water companies, regulators, businesses, and the public to best manage water usage into the future.
Water companies have committed to the rollout of 10 million more smart meters – with the average person on a meter using 122 litres per day, compared to 171 litres without – and have pledged to cut leakage by 17% in the next five years, and by 50% by 2050.
Furthermore, they are planning nine new desalination schemes, 10 new reservoirs, and seven new water recycling schemes by 2050.
The EA also highlighted how data centres and hydrogen production require vast amounts of water to cool their systems, and urged businesses to explore more options for using non-potable water – perfectly usable but not for human consumption.
There are also small steps the public can take, such as shortening showers, turning off taps when brushing teeth, using full loads for washing machines and dishwashers, collecting rainwater for garden use, and deleting old emails to reduce pressure on data-centre servers.
“Boosting supply through building critical water infrastructure is essential to safeguard supplies of drinking water,” said David Black, chief executive of water regulator Ofwat.
“The way is now clear for the water industry to build on the success of the recently opened £5bn Thames Tideway project by stepping forward to deliver an expanded pipeline of 30 major projects which we need in England and Wales.”
Image credit: Shutterstock
Chris Seekings is the Deputy Editor of ISEP’s Transform magazine, which is published biomonthly for ISEP members. Chris’s role involves writing sustainability-related news, features and interviews, as well as helping to plan and manage the magazine’s other day-to-day activities.
