Water companies feel squeeze of abstraction limits as drought deepens
Industry group calls for government targets to be relaxed during heatwaves
Water companies are struggling to cope with strict limits on the amount they can abstract from the ground, river and lakes after the driest July on record led to a drought being declared across large swaths of England.
Restrictions introduced by the Environment Agency limit how much the water utilities are licensed to take by about 2.7 per cent by 2030 and 18 per cent by 2050, with some companies subject to more stringent targets than others.
The measures, designed to protect the environment and future water sources, have heaped pressure on water companies as they manage the strain on supply after a series of heatwaves.
Stephen Slessor, chair of British Water, an industry association for equipment manufacturers, suppliers and contractors in the sector, said that while long-term abstraction targets should not be reduced, they should be relaxed during drought-ridden summers “where the evidence shows river flows aren’t harmed”.
About a third of drinking water in England — and up to 100 per cent in many areas of the South East — comes from boreholes. These draw water from aquifers, or rocks, such as chalk and sandstone that form large natural underground reservoirs, which are replenished over time by rainfall.
The water that comes out of boreholes is often of good quality and requires little treatment. In the wetter north, most of the water supply is taken from rivers, lakes and reservoirs.
In an emergency, water companies can apply for “drought orders” that allow them to temporarily increase abstraction levels, but this puts pressure on the environment by draining the aquifer, rivers and lakes.
If approved, drought orders are issued by the secretary of state for the environment, but in 2022 when several regions were at risk of water shortages, just one such order was given the go-ahead.
Southern Water, which already has a hosepipe ban in place in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, has submitted a drought order application this month to ban non-essential use such as commercial car washing to ease supply pressures.
The company, which has been told to cut abstraction overall by 1 per cent by 2030 and 44 per cent by 2050, is also asking to be allowed to abstract more water from the River Test in Hampshire, a rare chalk stream, despite lower river levels.
However, Feargal Sharkey, the environmental campaigner, said that further abstraction of the River Test “would deplete endangered species such as wild salmon”.
“Southern Water is arguing yet again that corporate greed and ineptitude should surpass the needs of the environment,” he added.
The utility said the application was “precautionary” and did not necessarily mean they would go ahead with the abstraction if approved.
Water companies manage their networks by switching between other authorised sources and transferring water between supply areas where possible.
Affinity Water, which serves 4mn people in London and surrounding areas, said the cuts to abstraction levels meant it had been forced to increase the amount of water it takes from Anglian Water’s Grafham reservoir in Cambridgeshire. However, Anglian Water is also facing an increase in demand from customers, putting further pressure on supplies.
Affinity Water, which has been told to reduce abstraction by 4 per cent by 2030 and 37 per cent by 2050, said the cuts “have made it much more difficult to respond to peak demand this summer”.
“We are hoping that the government will be more lenient on abstraction during this hot weather and look at introducing more flexible abstraction licensing overall,” it added.
The water shortages are exacerbated by the poor state of the infrastructure, which includes distribution pipes that leak a fifth of the water they carry, a failure to build new storage capacity such as reservoirs, and the contamination of waterways with unknown quantities of raw sewage.
There is also growing public anger against water companies, which could undermine hosepipe bans that are estimated to save 6 to 7 per cent of water if adhered to. Eight water companies have already imposed hosepipe bans.
Professor Alan MacDonald, head of groundwater at the British Geological Survey, said the “stringent abstraction targets had led to drought-resilient groundwater supplies being unavailable during drought periods even when this may not affect river flows”.
The BGS produces a monthly report on groundwater status, which has found that there is little evidence of long-term decline as the aquifers are generally replenished every winter by rainfall.
Water companies have plans to deliver nine new reservoirs by 2050, mostly through private finance initiative-type deals, which will see new companies set up to deliver the infrastructure and customers paying a surcharge on their bills.
But MacDonald said the government should “consider revisiting groundwater targets rather than spending billions on reservoirs”.
He added: “There is still often considerable groundwater available in a dry summer, so a good resource to buffer against drought.”
The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs described the UK’s current lack of rainfall as “exceptional” and said it was working with the National Drought Group and water companies to maintain supplies.
It added: “We expect water companies to go further and faster to reduce leaks and will make a decision on the drought order in due course.”