UK Environment Agency calls for action on water efficiency

Unless the demand is reduced, many areas in England will face water scarcity by 2050- particularly in the south-east.

The first major report published on water resources by UK Environment Agency states that climate change and demand from a growing population are the biggest pressures on the availability of water.

Unless the demand is reduced, many areas in England will face water scarcity by 2050- particularly in the south-east.

The report- State of the Environment: Water Resources highlights unsustainable levels of water abstraction, leakage from various water companies.

The leakage as reported is currently estimated at 3 billion litres per day. With respect to demand and shortage, Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency said: “We need to change our attitudes to water use. It is the most fundamental thing needed to ensure a healthy environment but we are taking too much of it and have to work together to manage this precious resource.

Industry must innovate and change behaviours in order to reduce demand and cut down on wastage – and we all have a duty to use water more wisely at home.

With demand on the rise, water companies must invest more in infrastructure to address leakage instead of relying on abstraction and the natural environment to make up this shortfall.”

A plan was announced last year by the government for abstraction reform which will reviews licences. The plan will also introduce more controls to protect water and its resources.

The Environment Agency plays an important role in protecting water for the people’s lives. The same is done by responding to pollution incidents, prosecuting offenders, regulating abstraction and improving water quality along rivers and beaches.

 

(With inputs from Gov.UK )