Water Miles

The report by DEFRA (the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) has the following in the foreword:

The problem we face is this; because of our need to adapt to climate change, our water intensive lifestyle and other pressures such as changing land use, we need to find ways of using water much more efficiently and sustainably if we are to continue to enjoy high standards and constant supply.

The South East and East of England already face increasing demand on a finite water supply. The drought of 2004-06 was only managed through controls on what we could use water for. This was not a one-off; indeed droughts are likely to be more common. By 2080, some long term climate projections forecast half as much rainfall in summer (nothing like fully offset by 30% more rainfall in winter) in the South East.

We need to plan ahead and each of us needs to play our part. We have, of course, not only to cope with too little water. Indeed the last year has been characterised more by too much water with serious flooding in many parts of the country. Sir Michael Pitt’s report into these floods shows that we still have lessons to learn as a country about defending ourselves from, and learning to live with, floods. One particular issue is how we cope with ‘surface water’ flooding. Just as climate change seems likely to mean less water on average, it is also likely to mean more extreme weather events, with more inland and coastal flooding.

Finally, the way we pump, treat, clean and heat water has profound implications for energy use. The water industry is a major energy user, and together with domestic hot water use, there’s a carbon impact here that simply has to be tackled. Saving water reduces emissions.