The race to stop England running out of water

Key Takeaways

• So how could water use in England come down to the levels seen in Denmark
• Russell says, even with projected population growth, if everyone in England knocked a minute off their shower time, for example, it would save nearly
• But water companies have been running campaigns urging us to use less water, seemingly with limited success
• Will Willoughby, director of water supply at Wessex Water, acknowledges that the negative public perception of the water industry has limited the impa
• "I think that would absolutely go a long way to… undoing some of the disdain towards the water companies and get people on board to help look after ou

So how could water use in England come down to the levels seen in Denmark?

Russell says, even with projected population growth, if everyone in England knocked a minute off their shower time, for example, it would save nearly one billion litres of water a day by 2050.

But water companies have been running campaigns urging us to use less water, seemingly with limited success.

Will Willoughby, director of water supply at Wessex Water, acknowledges that the negative public perception of the water industry has limited the impact of the message, and the government may be better placed to deliver it.

"I think that would absolutely go a long way to… undoing some of the disdain towards the water companies and get people on board to help look after our water resources."

What really separates England and Denmark is price. As well as water meters being mandatory in Denmark, they also pay far more for their water than we do here.

Despite climbing water bills across the UK - and with them outrage aimed at water companies who stand accused of paying dividends to shareholders when they should have been investing in infrastructure - there is an argument to be made that consumers are actually not paying enough.

In Denmark, the average cost of water and wastewater is £9.45 per cubic metre, here it is significantly lower. Thames Water - one of the cheapest - charges £4.21 and Southern the most expensive at £7.06.

Daniel Johns, managing director of Water Resources East, an organisation working with farmers, water companies and local authorities, says water in England is "too cheap".

"People assume that it will always be readily available. And we need to wean ourselves off that kind of idea that water will always be there."

England is already experiencing wetter winters, something climate models predict will continue. This prompts the question of whether we could just store more of this excess water for when we need it?

To do this, new reservoirs would be needed. But England has built no major new reservoirs for more than 30 years.

The reason for the lack of new storage sites has been hotly debated between water companies and campaigners, the latter saying there has been a lack of investment from the privatised sector, the former arguing they were not given permission to spend the money by the regulators because of the impact on water bills.

The government's landmark independent Cunliffe review into the water sector in 2025 accepted that both arguments were true.

Now 10 reservoirs are planned in England by 2050. But even with financial and political backing, building new reservoirs is not straightforward.

"Building enough reservoirs to hold all that water requires good places, which means places where the land is sloping, where we can find a valley," explains Dr Ross Woods, associate professor of water and environmental engineering at the University of Bristol.

"I don't think that's realistic countrywide."

One of the sites found to be suitable for a mega-reservoir serving 15 million people is near Abingdon.

This picturesque Oxfordshire town on the banks of the River Thames, was until recently, perhaps most famed for its bun-throwing traditions, but it is now at the centre of a national debate.

Public opinion on the reservoir has been split - some have objected to using the site for water, fearing high environmental costs from the destruction of ancient woodlands.

The government has now designated it and one other reservoir as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, bypassing some local decision-making processes.

But these designations do not overcome the environmental hurdles.

Reservoirs, as water bodies, have to achieve "good" status for water quality under environmental law - meaning it must be free from pollution such as from agricultural runoff and invasive species - which just 14% of bodies currently in England have achieved. The Environment Agency told the Cunliffe Review that "the treatment costs of meeting 'good' may render the new reservoirs infeasible".

Frequently Asked Questions

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Originally reported by BBC News. Enhanced and optimized for search by TechVeb.