Reservoir plans fast-tracked as we could run out of water 'in next decade'

THE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY HAS PREDICTED A SHORTFALL OF ALMOST FIVE BILLION LITRES A DAY BY 2050 AS DRIER SUMMERS CAUSED BY THE CLIMATE CRISIS HAS PUT THE COUNTRY AT RISK 14:11, 29 May 2025

Without any new reservoirs parts of the UK would have been forced to experience extreme rationing to ensure there was enough drinking water, the government has warned. Emma Hardy, the

minister for water and flooding, said that without the action the government is taking, the South East and East Anglia would have been under serious risk of water scarcity by “the middle of

the next decade”, requiring Mediterranean-style rationing to ensure people had enough drinking water. The lack of reservoir capacity, combined with a rising population and drier summers

caused by climate breakdown, has put the country at risk of water shortages. She added that years of underinvestment had left the country at risk of seasonal shortages, hosepipe bans and an

inadequate supply of clean drinking water. The minister has announced the fast track construction of two new reservoirs, with another seven to come before 2050, after a three-decade period

in which none were built. Work has already started on Havant Thicket reservoir in Hampshire, which is expected to be completed in the early 2030s. She said: “The alternative is, you know,

carry on as we have in the last 14 years. Do nothing. Let nothing happen. No reservoirs being built... And what do we end up with? A situation of rationing, more hosepipe bans, the situation

that we see happening in different countries in the Mediterranean… I’m not prepared to let that happen under my watch.” Article continues below Persistent drought in Sicily last summer

meant the water supply was turned on only once a week. Residents were told not to wash their clothes and to flush their toilets only infrequently. Experts warned in recent weeks of an

impending UK drought this summer if there was not significant rainfall soon, with some reservoirs in the north of the country at worryingly low levels. The environment minister, Steve Reed,

confirmed he has awarded the status of “nationally significant” to two new reservoir projects in East Anglia and Lincolnshire and ordered they go ahead. These will be the first to be built

since 1992. The government said this would shore up water resources for more than 750,000 homes in England’s most water-stressed areas. Without more capacity, the UK will be at risk of

running out of water in the medium term. The Environment Agency has predicted a shortfall of almost five billion litres a day by 2050. Water Minister Emma Hardy said: “We are backing the

builders not the blockers, intervening in the national interest and slashing red tape to make the planning process faster to unblock nine new reservoirs... This Government will secure our

water supply for future generations and unlock the building of thousands of homes as part of the Plan for Change." Anglian Water is proposing to build the Lincolnshire Reservoir to the

south of Sleaford, aiming to be operational by 2040. The firm has also partnered with Cambridge Water to propose the Fens Reservoir, located between the towns of Chatteris and March, set to

be completed in 2036. The Lincolnshire Reservoir would provide up to 166 million litres of water per day for up to 500,000 homes – that is the equivalent of more than 664 million cups of tea

per day. The Fens would supply a much needed 87 million litres to 250,000 homes in the driest region of the UK. Both projects will now progress to the consultation phase, where developers

gather views from communities and stakeholders. Water companies have committed to bring nine new reservoirs online by 2050, in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Suffolk,

Kent, East Sussex and the West Midlands and Somerset. These reservoirs alone have the potential to provide 670 million litres of extra water per day. The water industry has also welcomed the

announcement. "It's absolutely critical that we build these reservoirs now," David Henderson, chief executive of Water UK. Article continues below "If we don't

build them now, we wait another 10 years, it's going to cost even more, so we can't keep kicking the can down the road any longer." Some experts warn that managing how we use

water needs to take greater precedence in a warming climate. "We need a complete overhaul of the way we use water, to plug leaks, cut down on waste and store water where it falls as

rain," said Prof Hannah Cloke of the University of Reading. "It would be better to make more difficult decisions around regulation of new building, as well as retrofitting older

homes and businesses, to cut waste and recycle water where it is used, rather than pumping water across huge distances."