The
Environment Agency warns that consumers
must reduce their water use to help avert
severe shortages due to climate change and
population growth
Consumers and businesses
must reduce their water use to help avert
severe shortages due to future climate change
and population growth, the Environment Agency
has warned today.
Publishing its Water
Resources Strategy for England and Wales,
the Environment Agency has set out measures
that should be implemented to help protect
water resources to 2050 and beyond, including
the universal metering of households, a
review of the structure of the water industry
and actions to reduce water consumption
to help lower the country’s carbon emissions.
Water resources are
already under pressure in many parts of
the country, with some 25 million people
living in areas where there is less available
water per person than Spain or Morocco.
The average Briton currently uses 148 litres
- some 260 pints -every day.
Although climate change
will lead to more frequent heavy downpours
and increase the risk of flooding, overall
it will reduce the amount of water available
in rivers in England and Wales by ten to
15 per cent by 2050, and up to as much as
80 per cent during summer months.
This, along with a potential
20 million increase in the population of
England and Wales, will put even greater
pressure on the country’s limited water
supplies. By 2020, demand for water could
rise by five per cent or 800 million litres
every day - enough to fill every bath in
Wales, the West Midlands and North East
of England (4.6 million baths).
The Environment Agency’s
water resource strategy sets out key recommendations
that include:
Metering
• Water companies need
to implement near-universal water metering
of households, prioritising the most water
stressed areas of England;
• Metering should be
accompanied by suitable tariffs to provide
an incentive to reduce use and to protect
vulnerable groups.
Water industry and regulation
• A complete review
of the way the water industry is regulated.
Stronger incentives should be introduced
that reward water companies for reducing
the amount of water provided;
• A review of the structure
of the water industry to enable better sharing
of water across company boundaries;
• The production and
delivery of water reduction targets for
different categories of use (for example,
the food industry already has a target of
a 20 per cent water demand reduction by
2020).
Water efficient products
and regulations for new buildings
• A possible reduction
or removal of VAT on water efficient products
such as washing machines to influence consumer
choice and to make water efficiency a bigger
factor in buying decisions;
• An enhanced and extended
water efficiency labelling system for all
appliances that use water;
• More stringent water
efficiency standards for fixtures, fittings
and appliances;
• Tighter water efficiency
standards in planning conditions for new
buildings in areas where water resources
are under most pressure.
The Environment Agency’s
new strategy also highlights the close link
between water consumption and greenhouse
gas emissions. The transport, heating and
treatment of water accounts for over six
per cent of the UK’s carbon footprint -
greater than aviation in the UK - and the
near-universal metering of households in
England and Wales could reduce greenhouse
gas emissions equivalent to between 27 and
40 per cent of the total UK Carbon Reduction
Commitment target.
In addition to reducing
the UK’s carbon footprint, reducing demand
for water will help protect wetland habitats
and wildlife, as well as helping to ensure
that there is enough water for people and
the environment in the face of climate change.
The Environment Agency’s
Chief Executive, Dr Paul Leinster, said:
"Water is essential for life and vital
to our economy. But climate change and population
growth mean there may not be enough water
in England and Wales in the future for people
and the environment unless we start planning
and acting now.
"People and businesses
need to use less water and wasting water
needs to cost a lot more. The proposals
in our new strategy cover actions that need
to be taken by water companies, Government,
regulators, businesses and the public, and
we need a joined up approach to this problem
to prevent it becoming a crisis."
Ends
For further information
please contact the Environment Agency National
Press Office on 020 7863 8710 or pressoffice@environment-agency.gov.uk
<mailto:pressoffice@environment-agency.gov.uk>.
Notes to editors
Key facts
Water in the home
• The average Briton
uses 148 litres of water per day, the equivalent
of 260 pints;
• If the entire adult
population of England and Wales turned off
the tap while brushing their teeth, we could
save enough water to fill 72 Olympic sized
swimming pools;
• Washing your car with
a hosepipe can use more water than the average
family uses in a whole day;
• People who have a
water meter generally use 10 to 15 per cent
less water than those without;
• The UK is almost unique
among developed countries in that most households
(seven in ten) in England and Wales are
unmetered.
Future pressures
• By 2020, demand for
water could rise by five per cent or 800
million litres a day - enough to fill 4.6
million baths;
• By 2050, climate change
could reduce the amount of water available
by ten to 15 per cent;
• By 2050, average summer
river flows in England and Wales could reduce
by as much as 50 to 80 per cent.
Water and carbon emissions
• 6.3 per cent of UK
CO2 emissions are related to water use -
and 90 per cent of these are related to
heating water in the home;
• The near-universal
metering of households in England and Wales
could reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent
to between 27 and 40 per cent of the total
UK Carbon Reduction Commitment target;
• Consumers could save
up to £140 per year on energy and
water bills by using hot water more efficiently.
