Long spells of drizzle, Britain is famous for taking water for granted, in a way that some warmer countries don’t. But as the climate gets warmer and we become drier, this will no longer be possible. So how did we get here, and what can politicians, companies and individuals do to mitigate the drought?
Stop the leaks
Before we tell you not to turn on the faucet while you’re brushing your teeth and start taking two-minute showers, it’s important to note that water companies are letting a surprising amount of water seep through their aging infrastructure. Recent analysis by The Times found that water companies waste up to a quarter of their supply on leaks. Campaigners argue that since privatisation, too much money has gone to the shareholders of water companies instead of improving infrastructure. Moreover, the longer the problem continues, the more expensive and complex the leaks become. The industry says it is trying to make a change. Stuart Colville, policy director at trade body Water UK, said:[Water] Companies have committed to halving leaks by 2050 – based on recent data showing some of the lowest leakage levels ever – and supporting customers to do their part. Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of the Rivers Trust, has campaigned to get people to stop using premium tap water to do things like water their gardens. Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA
Stop personal waste
That said, the British use a lot of water. The average citizen consumes much more than most Europeans – typically around 150 liters per day per person, compared to 128 in France, 130 in Spain and 122 in Poland. Only three countries use more per capita: Greece, Bulgaria and Italy, which tops the table with more than 200 liters per day. Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of the Rivers Trust, has campaigned to get people to stop using premium tap water to do things like wash their cars and water their gardens. Instead, he says people should get water and the government should launch a public awareness campaign to reduce usage. He says: “We have a stubbornly high take-up rate per head which is one of the highest in Europe and it is not going down. The government has set targets to reduce it and they haven’t outlined how they will do it yet. We need a fundamental change in behavior and new homes need to be built to be water efficient as well as energy efficient.” Ofwat, the water regulator, suggests people use wash basins instead of running the tap constantly, wait for a full load before doing any washing and water plants with sewage.
Leave the beavers
Part of the problem in the UK is that we have historically drained our rather wet land to improve the prospects for agriculture and infrastructure. We’ve also straightened our rivers and stopped flooding around them – removing wetlands – which is not only terrible for nature, but quickly slows water downstream, causing floods when it rains heavily and droughts when it doesn’t. The Beaver Trust is urging the government to reintroduce beavers to rivers “as part of a low-cost, restorative, solutions-based approach to mitigating the devastating effects of drought and bushfires”. Photo: Adrian Langdon/Cornwall Wildlife Trust/PA A furry rodent could have the answer. beavers build dams, creating wetlands and slowing the flow of rivers, storing water in the landscape. There are a few captive release trials in England, as well as some free-ranging beavers in Scotland and parts of southern England. Campaigners want the government to allow the release of business animals across the country. A spokesperson for the Beaver Trust explains: “We urge the government to prioritize water security and accelerate the reintroduction of beavers into river basins as part of a low-cost, restorative, solutions-based approach to mitigating the devastating effects of drought and wet fire.” Well, they would say so. But one farmer, Chris Jones, has found that having beavers on his land in Cornwall is protecting him from the worst effects of the recent drought. He tells us: “What the beavers have done is they’ve built a whole series of dams and they all store water. They help keep the streamside land area moist and drought tolerant. “The beavers have reconnected the stream to the floodplain, so you have all these little streams running through the land where there was no water before. Now, lakes are created behind the dams, they create water reserves on the land.” Graphic
Grow smarter
British agriculture is used to using water in an unsustainable way, drawing water from rare chalk streams to irrigate crops and growing many water-intensive crops in the driest parts of the country – for example potatoes, which are very thirsty plants, in the East England. Farmers could be incentivized to build reservoirs on their land so they can farm without having to irrigate as much. They could even sell their water to water companies in times of drought. We grow food, so why not water? Considering what we grow and where we grow it could also help us use water more efficiently in the future. Kelly Hewson-Fisher, national water specialist for the National Farmers’ Union, says: “The prolonged dry weather we have experienced so far in 2022 highlights the urgent need for government and its agencies to work with agricultural and horticulture sector to better plan and manage the country’s water resources to help build resilience and provide investment opportunities for irrigation equipment and building more on-farm reservoirs. Furthermore, approaches to flood and drought risk management need to be ‘joined up’, more innovative and more ambitious. This would allow farmers to access a safe water supply for food.”
Get the government to act
New legislation is needed to ensure that water companies clean up their act and that water is used more sensibly across the country. Water UK has proposed a new Rivers Act to make companies legally responsible for the commitments they made in the 25-year environmental plan. This would legislate for water wastage and ensure that rivers do not dry up. NGOs, including the Rivers Trust, believe the government should do more campaigning to convince people to reduce their water use. There is also hope that the upcoming government land use strategy will take water into account and suggest that thirsty crops are not grown in areas where there is not much rain, for example. The government could also legislate to make homes more water efficient and set strong targets for new developments. Turning off a dripping faucet helps, but doesn’t address the systemic problems that cause drought. Perhaps the recent heatwave will give policymakers food for thought – after all, it will be their decisions that will determine whether Britain faces another hot and dry summer.
