Water is abstracted (withdrawn) from either freshwater (surface water and groundwater) or tidal water for a range of uses. While water issues exist many parts of the UK, this POSTnote focuses on proposed abstraction reforms in England and Wales. Total freshwater abstraction has declined by 15% since 2000, mainly because of a decline in water usage for electricity generation. However, demand is expected to rise by 9% over the next 30 years, largely because of forecast population growth of 6.6-16 million in England and Wales in areas already classified as ‘water stressed’. In addition, even currently water-rich areas such as the west of the UK are likely to experience supply-demand deficits by 2050 because of climate change.
Key points in this POSTnote include:
- Freshwater resources in the UK will be affected by climate change and rising demand due to population growth.
- The existing water abstraction (withdrawal) system is too inflexible to both protect freshwater environments and to meet future business and public water supply needs.
- Proposed reforms to the abstraction system include measures to better link abstraction to water availability and to introduce quicker and easier trading of abstraction permits.
- A ‘twin-track’ approach of managing both water supply and demand may help to achieve water supply resilience.
- Water resource decision-making could benefit from increased stakeholder collaboration and better integration with land management.
Acknowledgements
POSTnotes are based on literature reviews and interviews with a range of stakeholders and are externally peer reviewed. POST would like to thank interviewees and peer reviewers for kindly giving up their time during the preparation of this briefing, including:
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Mike Acreman, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology*
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Iain Brown, York University/SEI*
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Christina Cook, University of British Columbia*
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Rob Cunningham, RSPB*
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Lord Deben, Climate Change Committee
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Gareth Edwards, University of East Anglia*
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Dustin Garrick, University of Oxford*
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Helen Gavin, Atkins*
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Jim Hall, University of Oxford*
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Paul Hammett, NFU*
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Peter Hetherington, Ofwat*
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Doug Hunt, Atkins
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Peter Huxtable, British Aggregates
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Daniel Johns, CCC Adaptation Sub-Committee*
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Henry Leveson-Gower, Defra*
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Sarah Mukherjee, Water UK
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Rose O’Neill, WWF*
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Ian Pemberton, Ofwat*
- Alice Piure, Anglian Water*
*Denotes people who acted as external reviewers of the briefing.