Private firms licensed to abstract 43tn litres of water, campaigners warn
Private companies have licences to take trillions of litres of water out of rivers, lakes and aquifers a year, campaigners have warned as pressure on resources grows.
Environmental charity River Action is calling on the Government to review all abstraction licences and ensure there is a fully funded water resilience plan as the UK enters an era of more frequent droughts and rising demand from a growing population, new data centres and other development.
Hosepipe bans are in place for 23 million customers, with swathes of England in “prolonged dry weather”, suffering weeks without rain in some spots, and drought has been declared across North Wales and the Upper Severn.
Analysis by River Action also shows that the eight water companies with hosepipe bans in place abstract almost 14.7 billion litres of water every day to supply homes and businesses across England and Wales, but lose almost two billion litres of treated drinking water every day through leaks.
The charity’s research reveals thousands of golf courses, drinks manufacturers, farm businesses and other commercial operators hold licences permitting the abstraction of more than 43 trillion litres of water a year in England and Wales.
The amount of water private companies are permitted to take from rivers, lakes and aquifers dwarfs the 5.3 trillion litres annually abstracted by water companies for public supply, River Action said.
The charity’s analysis of data from government bodies the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales shows there are 14,128 commercial abstraction licences across the two countries, with 11,612 in England and 2,516 in Wales.
River Action says that though the licences specify the maximum volume of water that may be taken rather than the amount that is actually removed from the environment, its analysis reveals the enormous scale of water licences issued under a system designed for a different climate.
The charity acknowledges many abstraction licences support essential activities, including renewable energy generation, food production and manufacturing.
It is calling for all essential and non-essential activities to be reviewed and the licences to be updated, alongside clear plans to improve water efficiency across all industries.
It also says essential public water supplies, food production and healthy rivers must take priority over non-essential uses, warning that the Government must plan ahead to ensure they do not lose out to “wasteful commercial uses”.
River Action chief executive James Wallace said that, despite increasing droughts, the UK is not running out of rainwater, but “rain falls and is then polluted and wasted”.
He said: “While millions of households face hosepipe bans, the UK still has no credible plan for securing and managing water in a hotter, drier future, even as demand continues to grow from new homes, industry and the rapid expansion of data centres.
“This isn’t about stopping essential industries from using water.
“It’s about bringing industries into a water-efficient future where every drop is valued and an outdated abstraction system is brought into the 21st century.”
Every licence should be reviewed to ensure it remains environmentally sustainable, and the Government should incentive regenerative agriculture which relies less on irrigation, he urged.
Mr Wallace added that water companies must be made to urgently invest in fixing leaks, building reservoirs, restoring wetlands and making homes, businesses and new developments genuinely water efficient.
He said hosepipe bans were not a water efficiency strategy, warning: “The public cannot be expected to carry the burden of decades of political complacency, corporate corruption and underinvestment.”
River Action says abstraction licensing, reducing leaks and protecting rivers must be addressed together as climate change increases pressure on water resources.
An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “Abstraction licences have strict conditions to protect the environment and are reviewed regularly.
“We expect water companies to meet targets to halve leakage by 2050, whilst investing in new water infrastructure to increase supplies.
“We’re working with farming and other businesses to manage demand for water.
“We also expect to see a renewed focus on nature-based solutions, such as wetland restoration, to hold more water when it rains.”
Published: by Radio NewsHub