Water supply resilience and climate change

Water quality and availability are linked to the wider environment, agricultural practices and energy security, and these interdependencies can be a source of vulnerability. Evidence suggests that a broader risk-based systems approach to water resource management could improve water resilience. This allows a better understanding of risks across society and the impact of trade-offs between stakeholders, the environment and the economy in different management scenarios. 

Environmental policy is a devolved issue in the UK and this POSTbrief focuses on the resilience of water resources and public water supply in England, where supply is largely provided by privatised water companies. Those responsible for water resource management and planning in England have recently adopted a national water resources framework, including regional planning and cross-sector collaboration. Water companies must complete statutory Water Resources Management Plans (WRMPs), which show how a water company will manage water supply and demand over a minimum of 25 years. New regional plans will inform future WRMPs and will be published for the first time in 2022. Further information on the different water and wastewater companies covering different geographic areas is available on the constituency information: water companies data dashboard.

A twin-track approach has been adopted to address the resilience of water supply, which includes investing in water supply infrastructure (including those features of the natural environment that are critical for water resources) to improve public water supply, and demand management to improve water efficiency.  Supply management options include reservoirs, groundwater abstraction (removal of water from an aquifer, a water-bearing rock), river abstractions (removal of water from a river), water transfers and desalination. Demand management options include reducing leakage, metering, reuse of grey water, water efficiency and use of tariffs. Water efficiency measures focus on behaviour change measures, by raising awareness to reduce personal and business water consumption, and on water efficient domestic appliances and retrofitting properties with water saving technologies.  

This POSTbrief summarises the drivers and impacts of drought and water shortages, how the water industry is currently addressing these issues, further challenges to be addressed, and how a more holistic, systems approach to water resource planning could increase the resilience of England’s water supply. There are complex challenges to address, but a substantial amount of research is ongoing to improve the resilience of England’s water supply. The following key areas are highlighted in the literature: 

• A systems approach to water resource management would enable interdisciplinary, cross-sector collaboration to identify and agree acceptable trade-offs to manage water and environmental risks. 
• Recognition of natural capital, the economics of biodiversity and the understanding that a good quality environment will enhance the resilience of water resources to the impacts of extreme weather, including drought and flooding. 
• A diverse range of sources, including groundwater, surface water and reservoirs, will improve overall resilience of water supply. Each source type has inherently different characteristics that can prove to be beneficial in different scenarios depending on climatic conditions and local needs and resources. 
• Good quality data are required for effective planning and decision-making and to provide the foundation for water resource modelling. This requires ongoing resources to maintain and enhance monitoring networks. Model outputs are important for planning purposes and communicating issues to stakeholders and the public. 
• Water efficiency measures are important for improving water supply resilience and achieving net zero. Improvements in household and non-household efficiency and leakage have the potential to make significant contributions to improving water security and mitigating climate change impacts. 
• Effective communication of drought risk is important to change the current cultural narratives around water supply in the UK and engage the public. A wide range of strategies are available, and efforts tailored towards specific audiences have been shown to be most successful. 

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:

Adrian Brookes, Defra* 

David Style, Climate Change Committee 

Gemma Holmes, Climate Change Committee* 

Cara Labuschagne, Climate Change Committee* 

Polly Chancellor, RAPID, Ofwat* 

Julie Smith, Ofwat* 

Margaret Read, RAPID, Ofwat* 

Brenda Caymen, RAPID, Ofwat* 

Caroline Knight, RAPID, Ofwat* 

Dena Barasi, Ofwat 

Chelsea Ward, Ofwat 

Harriet Orr, Environment Agency* 

Stuart Kirk, Environment Agency* 

Stuart Sampson, Environment Agency* 

Daniel Johns, Anglian Water 

Matthew Pluke, Anglian Water 

Trevor Bishop, Water Resources South East 

Meyrick Gough, Water Resources South East 

Paul Hammett, National Farmers Union* 

Marcus O’Kane, Severn Trent Water 

Dr Rob Ward, British Geological Survey* 

Dr John Bloomfield, British Geological Survey* 

Dr Matthew Ascott, British Geological Survey* 

Dr Chris Jackson, British Geological Survey 

Dr Heather Smith, Cranfield University 

Professor Jim Hall, University of Oxford* 

Professor Lindsey McEwen, University of Western England Bristol* 

Professor Ian Holman, Cranfield University* 

Alastair Chisholm, Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management 

Jimmy Carter, Mott MacDonald 

Dr Mike Jones, Thames Water 

Dr Chris Lambert, Thames Water 

Jim Clark, House of Commons* 

Professor Simon Dadson, University of Oxford, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology 

Jamie Hannaford, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology 

Dr Chris Counsell, HR Wallingford 

Stuart Colville, Water UK 

Jacob Wallace, Water UK* 

Cate Lamb, Carbon Disclosure Project 

Ali Morse, Blueprint for Water, Wildlife and Countryside Link* 

Dr Nathan Richardson, Waterwise* 

Lydia Makin, Waterwise* 

* denotes people and organisations who acted as external reviewers of the briefing.