With much of the country battered by a fierce winter storm, yesterday was probably not the most propitious moment to focus the country’s attention on another potential crisis: a shortage of water. So used have we become to plentiful amounts of rain that to be told we must learn to cope with dwindling water supplies into the foreseeable future seems fanciful, even scaremongering. Yet the White Paper published by the Government yesterday, Water for Life, makes a compelling case for a complete overhaul of how we should manage this most precious of resources if we are to avoid serious problems.
This year, large parts of the country have received only 70 per cent of their average rainfall. The last 12 months have been drier than 1976, 1934 and 1921 – the worst drought years of the 20th century. Farmers, especially in eastern England, have been badly affected. Last week, the Environment Agency warned of drought conditions next year in central, eastern and south-eastern England – even if they have average levels of rainfall over the winter. A large part of the problem is that our current levels of water abstraction are simply not sustainable in the long run. It is always possible, given the vagaries of our maritime climate, that it will rain non-stop for the next six months, replenishing underground aquifers and topping up parched reservoirs. But even if it did, we would still be too profligate with our water.
What is needed is for all of us – water companies, businesses and consumers – to use supplies more efficiently. The White Paper goes a long way towards setting out how, relying heavily on market mechanisms. The proposals – some 22 years after the privatisation of the industry – would see the water companies’ monopoly broken up and promote the entry of new suppliers. Farmers would be encouraged to set up their own reservoirs and trade abstraction licences. A new, more competitive retail market would be established in an effort to hold down rising prices, with greater incentives for metering.
These are good ideas – but perhaps not ambitious enough. After all, none will make much difference if there is not enough water, or if it does not get to where it is needed. The importance of greater interconnection in our water supply cannot be overstated. Some regions of the country have plenty of water, while others are drier than parts of the Middle East. After the drought of 1976, a water grid was proposed to move supplies around the country. While this is feasible as an engineering project, the White Paper argues that such large-scale transfer is currently too expensive. If we have many more years like this, however, it will be impossible to avoid.