News
Consultation Launched To Determine Water Stress In England
The Environment Agency has launched a consultation to work out areas of water stress in England, with climate change, population growth and the country’s drought resilience all putting pressure on supplies around the country.
The consultation will provide evidence on water resources so that those water supplies experiencing the greatest pressure can bring in the most appropriate water-saving measures, improving future water management and making sure that rivers, lakes and streams are properly protected.
Newly created water stress maps use data from suppliers and the National Framework for Water Resources, considering environmental needs (including chalk streams), a long-term view of water availability to 2050, impacts of both climate change and population growth, planned water efficiency and leakage improvements, and the impact of a 1:500 level of resilience in water supplies.
Priority water company areas have been provisionally identified as Severn Trent Water, South Staffordshire Water, Wessex Water, Portsmouth Water, Cambridge Water, part of South West Water and the Isles of Scilly.
Chair of the Environment Agency Emma Howard Boyd said: “Climate change and population growth mean that if we don’t take action now, in around 25 years water demand will exceed availability in many areas. But before we reach that point the first thing to suffer is the natural environment and we are already seeing this happen.
“Turning this around will require a society-wide effort. Water companies, the government, the Environment Agency, farmers and individuals have roles to play. In that spirit, we welcome views from all individuals and organisations on the approach and potential solutions.”
Rebecca Pow, environment minister, made further comments, saying that we all need to value water, as supplies face increasing pressure.
The government is now proposing a legal target on water demand in the upcoming environment bill, as well as working alongside water suppliers to reduce leakage, improving planning and tackle pollution and unsustainable abstraction.
From a business perspective, there’s a lot you can do to help improve your own water efficiency across your entire site, helping to safeguard precious resources for the future.
There are all sorts of water-saving strategies you can employ to help reduce water usage and consumption, and it’s just a matter of finding the right ones for you and your company.
A water audit will help reveal areas for improvement and you can then take it from there, focusing on the likes of water leak detection and repair, bill validation, automated meter reading and more.
It can be difficult to know where to begin, however, so get in touch with the team here at H2o Building Services today if you’d like to find out more about how you can start saving water – and money – across your business.