Britons face water rationing without urgent action to fix the UK’s water supply, a Cabinet minister has said. Environment Secretary Steve Reed warned household supplies could be rationed by the 2030s as he outlined plans to make it more difficult to block construction of new reservoirs.
Under current rules, it is possible to ask the courts to challenge the building of a reservoir three times, but Mr Reed wants that changed to one attempt in cases without merit and two for others. He told the Mail on Sunday that without action, the Government would be forced to look into water rationing. Mr Reed said: « You would have to plan when you turned the tap on, or when you had a shower. It happens in some Mediterranean countries already. At certain times of the day their water turns off. »
He added that the UK hasn’t seen a new reservoir built for 37 years despite demand for clean drinking water starting to outstrip supply by the mid-2030s. The Environment Secretary wants nine new reservoirs by 2050, with the first completed by 2029.
Britain’s National Infrastructure Commission concluded in 2023 that the country needs more reservoirs, calling for new water infrastructure to boost supply by at least 1,300 megalitres per day. This is enough to fill 5,200 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Their report came after record-breaking heat in the summer of 2022 saw reservoir levels plummet and drought hit parts of the country.
While Mr Reed appears keen to turbo-charge reservoir construction and trumpet his support for planning reforms, some experts have said the UK should look beyond reservoirs towards re-using water, including by capturing and filtering rain or cleaning up waste water.
Water science expert, Kevin Grecksch, from the University of Oxford, and Kirsty Holstead, a researcher at Wageningen University, co-authored an article in The Conversation calling for re-use and better management of demand.
Mr Reed’s own Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has acknowledged « ambitious » reductions in how much water is consumed and fixing leaking infrastructure play a « significant » role in safeguarding supplies.
Greksch and Holstead argue that governments consider it « politically unpalatable » to ask Brits to save water, particularly given the amount of rain which people usually see.
They write: « Telling customers to save more water isn’t the easiest job for an industry whose reputation is at its lowest level ever, amid the sewage scandal and reports of high profits and CEO bonuses. »
Next month sees water suppliers across the UK raising their prices by at least 20%, despite widespread disatisfaction with the industry from Brits already grappling with higher council tax and energy bills.
The experts point out that « a large majority » of Britain’s water is used by industrial and agricultural sectors. They conclude new reservoirs are « not really the best » and are « certainly not the only answer » to water supply issues.
« A stronger focus on reusing water and demanding less of it in the first place provide a more suitable answer », they argue.
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