Memorandum submitted by the Royal Society
for the Protection of Birds
CLIMATE CHANGE AND WATER SECURITY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
— A combination of rising numbers of
households, increased per capita demand and poor raw water quality
is putting pressure on water resources. Climate change will increase
these pressures.
— The aquatic environment is in a poor
state, with over 45% of freshwater Sites of Special Scientific
Interest (SSSIs) in England in unfavourable condition, partly
because of water scarcity. Decisions taken on water resource management
over the next few years will determine whether climate change
has a devastating impact on an already degraded aquatic environment.
— Current policy and practice is inadequate
to meet the challenges posed by climate change. Land-use planning
is not linked to water scarcity, demand management and leakage
control are poor, strategic management of abstractions is lacking,
and water company plans focus on the development of new resources
to the exclusion of other more sustainable approaches.
— The Water Act 2003 is a step forward,
introducing new measures to encourage efficient use of water by
all abstractors and conservation of water by public authorities.
However, much more must be done to mitigate the effects of climate
change and increased housing development.
— This must include land-use planning
that recognises environmental limits, robust action on demand
management, greater efforts in leakage control, and the integration
of water-efficient design into housing and industry. Where new
resources are developed, these must be linked to demand and leakage
controls and demonstrably necessary to secure public water supply.
— Where water storage schemes are required,
damage to existing nature conservation interests must be minimised,
and the benefits for wildlife maximised, including reductions
in abstraction in environmentally sensitive areas.
INTRODUCTION
1. The RSPB works for the conservation of
wild birds and their environment. We are Europe's largest wildlife
conservation charity, with over one million members. We manage
one of the largest conservation estates in the UK, totalling more
than 125,000 hectares, including extensive freshwater and coastal
wetland habitat. We provide advice on the management of wetland
habitats, and contribute to the development of policy on a wide
range of water policy issues including water resources, biodiversity,
water quality and flood defence.
2. Wetlands are fragile ecosystems, dependent
on the way water is managed, and much remains to be done to achieve
sustainable water management. Action is planned under the fourth
periodic review to tackle some of the impacts on aquatic habitats
from water company abstractions, but more will be necessary as
the Environment Agency and English Nature complete their review
of consents near or on internationally important wildlife sites.
In the medium term, a move is needed to a system of water resource
management that allocates abstractions strategically to maintain
supply and prevent environmental damage, and actively promotes
the efficient use of water.
CLIMATE CHANGE
SCENARIOS AND
IMPACTS ON
WATER RESOURCES
3. Whilst, due to historical emissions of
"greenhouse gases", some degree of climate change is
inevitable, measures should be taken to reduce emissions of these
gases and, therefore, minimise the impacts of climate change over
the next fifty years and beyond. The RSPB supports the Government's
targets, set out in the Energy White Paper (2003), to cut UK carbon
dioxide emissions by 60% by 2050.
4. Current estimates of climate change suggest
that, by the 2020s, there will be on average more winter rainfall
and less summer rainfall throughout England. Higher temperatures
mean that potential evaporation rates will probably increase.
5. There is also evidence that climate change
will increase the year-to-year variability of rainfall. Effectively,
this means the climate will be less predictable, with both more
dry years and more wet years. While drought years will be more
likely, evidence about the possibility of longer droughts is unclear
and increased weather variability may make droughts that last
over several years slightly less likely. However, it is important
to note that the understanding of changes in extreme climate events
is more limited than that of changes in average climate.
6. Higher temperatures and a probable reduction
in soil moisture will cause a reduction in the period of groundwater
recharge (ie the period in which groundwaters are "topped
up" in the winter and early spring). This could have serious
implications for those regions of England that rely on groundwater
sources (the south-east relies on these for 60% of its water,
while the figure is up to 90% on parts of the south coast). Paradoxically,
there are likely to be increases in winter rainfall which could
provide greater security of water supply for those regions that
draw most of their water from reservoirs (the north and west of
England).
7. Higher temperatures are also likely to
lead to higher consumption levels, putting pressure on supplies
at times when water availability is lowest. Higher human water
demands will make it difficult to maintain licensed summer abstractions
from either surface or groundwater, putting great pressure on
both irrigators and wetland managers.
IMPLICATIONS FOR
BIODIVERSITY
8. Biodiversity is already under stress
in the water environment, with large declines recorded in breeding
wading birds of wet meadow habitats (including a 60% decline in
the population of snipe), decreases in the number and diversity
of aquatic fly populations (with knock-on impacts on fish populations),
and reductions in the diversity of aquatic flora.
9. The impacts of unsustainable water abstractions
are being felt on up to 400 river and wetland sites in England
and Wales, while poor river water quality (from excessive concentrations
of phosphates and nitrates derived from sewage and agricultural
sources) has profound impacts on the vegetation composition, invertebrate
and fish populations of lowland rivers. In the future, more sites
are likely to be affected as the pressure on public water supplies
increases.
10. These trends will be exacerbated by
climate change, which is likely to lead to increases in the duration
of soil moisture deficits (putting further pressure on breeding
wading birds) and more years in which river stretches suffer from
low flows. These low flows will, in turn, increase water quality
problems (by concentrating pollutants and reducing dilution).
11. This analysis should be seen in conjunction
with work undertaken at Cambridge University, looking at possible
impacts of climate change on the distribution of birds, including
a range of wetland species. This research predicted substantial
northerly and westerly movements in the core range of a number
of species, linked to earlier vegetation growth (limiting nesting
opportunities) and reductions in soil moisture (reducing prey
availability).
12. Any increase in abstraction of water
from the environment to meet increased demand is likely to prevent
the UK's network of internationally and nationally important wetland
sites from meeting their conservation objectives and make legally
binding targets for biodiversity conservation unachievable.
13. The Environment Agency, in its 2001
Water Resources Strategy, attempted to calculate the likely reductions
needed in current levels of abstraction to restore abstraction
to sustainability and ensure favourable condition of the water
environment. It calculated that, by 2010, this would need to be
in the order of 257 million litres per day, and by 2025, 716 million
litres per day. This may seem to be a large amount, but it is
dwarfed by the current levels of water company leakage, which
in 2002-03 amounted to 3,623 million litres per day.
POPULATION AND
HOUSEHOLD GROWTH
14. The latest government projections show
an increase of 3.3 million households in England and Wales between
1996 and 2016. This is largely due to the trend towards smaller
household size, as the total population is predicted to grow by
no more than 2.8 million over the same period. Much of this increase
is expected to take place in the already relatively water scarce
south and east of England.
15. Population change influences the demand
for and provision of water services. Firstly, more households
will demand more water. Secondly, expanding urban populations
place extra strain on the sewage and drainage infrastructure,
which in most cases was not designed to cope with the volumes
of waste generated by modern cities.
16. New development can have a dramatic
impact on local and regional water resource availability, potentially
requiring large-scale investment in new resources and maintaining
already unsustainable levels of abstraction from the environment.
17. Maps published in the Government's Water
Strategy document "Directing the Flow", and in the Environment
Agency's 2001 Water Resources Strategy, show that most "resource
zones" in the south and east of England are already classified
as having unacceptable or unsustainable abstraction rates. With
the additional pressures from predicted housing growth and climate
change, this situation can only worsen, unless there is substantial
investment in water efficiency for both new-build and existing
housing stock and industrial/commercial buildings.
HOUSE BUILDING
AND THE
"SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES"
PROGRAMME
18. The Government's Water Act (2003) included
some welcome measures to encourage water efficiency and sustainable
abstraction, recognising the challenges posed by climate change
and housing development in water scarce areas. All abstractors
of water were given a duty to use that water efficiently, and
public bodies (such as local planning authorities) will be encouraged
to make water conservation a key element of their operations.
However, given the scale of the problems facing the water environment
and the way demand for water has risen over recent decades, the
Water Act can only be seen as a start, and much more must be done.
19. In southern England, The Environment
Agency has been working with the Regional Assembly to model and
estimate the effects of levels of housing growth on public water
supplies. Government statements have suggested that 30% more housing
than planned for in regional planning guidance may be required.
The results of the modeling are stark. Even with planned water
resource developments, more than three-quarters of the south-east's
water resource zones will be in summer deficit (many by several
millions of litres per day) by 2025. Engineering solutions to
this deficit, in addition to being hugely expensive and potentially
environmentally damaging, may not be available, as neighbouring
water resource zones have very little surplus, and many are also
in deficit.
20. Despite these warnings, and the Government's
apparent commitment to "sustainable communities", little
thought appears to have been given to the critical issues of water
availability and demand management. Studies suggest that water
efficiency savings of between 30 and 50% are possible in new-build
houses (compared to building regulations standards) through the
introduction of simple, tried and tested water efficiency and
demand management measures, such as water efficient appliances,
grey water recycling and rainwater harvesting.
21. The Greenwich Millennium Village, for
example, aims to achieve a saving of between 30 and 35% compared
to conventional housing through simple means such as dual flush
toilets, efficient taps, efficient showers and grey water recycling.
Gusto Homes, the winner of the Environment Agency's 2003 water
efficiency award, has achieved 50% savings at its development
in Newark. The Stirling Prize runner-up, BedZed in south London
(built for and managed by the Peabody Trust), has so far achieved
average water efficiency savings of between 50 and 60% compared
to average per capita consumption. Such development has to become
the norm rather than the exception if supply deficits and environmental
damage are to be averted.
22. If change is to be effected in reality,
government must insist that ambitious minimum performance standards
are adopted and strictly enforced in new developments. 30% water
savings should be a minimum requirement, with 50% the target,
achievable and realistic with the significant economies of scale
afforded by the major "sustainable community" housing
developments.
RESPONSES TO
THE PROBLEMS
OF WATER
SCARCITY
23. The regime governing water abstraction
and supply in England does not facilitate the protection of water
resources. No one body is responsible for achieving reductions
in water use. As a consequence, the UK has fallen behind many
other European countries in its approach to dealing with water
scarcity. Per capita water consumption has increased steadily
since 1970, despite the major reductions in leakage achieved by
water companies during the 1990s, and the fact that the UK's population
has remained relatively static. In contrast, Germany reduced its
household water consumption by 8.5% between 1991 and 1998 while
the amount of water abstracted from the environment declined by
11.4%. If similar shifts could be achieved in England, then the
concerns of the RSPB and similar organisations over climate change
and water availability would be substantially reduced.
24. The Environment Agency is required to
produce water resource strategies, balancing current and future
needs and environmental impacts. However, the Agency has little
influence over spatial planning and building regulations, and
is further hampered by a system of permanent abstraction licences,
which has prevented it achieving a sustainable abstraction regime.
The 2003 Water Act was designed in part to address these problems.
However, the implementation of its provisions will require firm
action on the part of the Government and the Environment Agency
to secure the conversion of permanent into time-limited licences
(and the Government resisted calls for a statutory mechanism in
the Act to ensure that permanent licences would be converted to
time limits).
25. Water companies have responded to climate
change and possible supply deficits by proposals for cross-catchment
transfers, new reservoirs and the construction of desalination
facilities around the south coast. They submitted their 25-year
water resource plans to the Environment Agency in 2003. The emphasis
on new resource development was alarming, when so little attention
was given to tackling leakage (indeed some companies proposed
allowing it to rise) and restraining public demand. In southern
England alone, the water companies have plans for six new reservoirs
and eight desalination plants.
AN INTEGRATED
APPROACH
26. A combination of rising numbers of households,
increased per capita demand and poor raw water quality is putting
pressure on water resources. These trends will be exacerbated
by climate change. An integrated approach to water, planning and
related policies is essential if the UK is to be prepared for
water scarcity problems—and all of the associated environmental,
social and other implications—which are likely to accompany
climate change. In particular, government, the Environment Agency
and water companies will need to adopt a more strategic approach
to water resource planning that includes demand management, leakage
control and the development of new resources only where necessary
and appropriate.
27. Action must be taken now to ensure that
the provisions of the Water Act are fully implemented, by producing
and following a "road-map" for the conversion of permanent
to time-limited licences. This will allow the Environment Agency
to implement catchment-scale abstraction allocation, and protect
long-term security of supply.
28. Land-use planning should be more effectively
linked to water availability. In the medium term, this will be
essential to deliver the requirements of the Water Framework Directive,
and could be secured by creating appropriate powers and duties
for the Environment Agency and local authorities under the River
Basin Planning regime.
29. In order to mitigate the effects of
climate change on water resources there needs to be a more concerted
push to restrain and reduce consumer demand. Charging by volume
used (through metering) must become the accepted norm as soon
as practicable, and the Government must be more pro-active in
promoting metering, which it has stated it supports, but is currently
doing relatively little to advance. We recommend that water meter
installation should be targeted initially at water resource zones
that are predicted to be in summer deficit by 2025 and/or to zones
already showing environmental stress.
30. RSPB research has shown that vulnerable
groups (the poor, sick and elderly) can be protected from excessively
high water bills in a situation where metering is the norm through
the use of tariffs that provide a low-cost "essential use"
block of water with progressively higher blocks for further non-essential
use. Users requiring more water for medical reasons would be allocated
additional low-cost blocks. Such a system would have the merit
of providing a substantial disincentive for "luxury"
use by ensuring that tariffs rose steeply on use over and above
basic domestic needs. The establishment of a "Water Savings
Trust", to promote water efficiency and the installation
of water-efficient technologies in homes and industry should be
seen as an essential companion to any adopted metering strategy.
31. Despite these measures, there may be
places where the development of new resources to secure public
supply is necessary. However, such developments generally have
serious environmental consequences, and so should be regarded
as the last, rather than the first, resort of water resource planners.
Reservoir construction is likely to impact directly on the areas
allocated for storage, but also indirectly on areas from which
water is sourced and transferred. Summer abstraction will reduce
dilution rates and water quality, and damage plants and animals
dependent on inundation. Winter abstraction may alter down-stream
siltation rates and salinity gradients, with resulting consequences
for wildlife.
32. The environmental costs and benefits
of creating additional water storage capacity should be thoroughly
and strategically reviewed. Such additional capacity should be
opposed where it is not clearly linked to demand and leakage controls,
where it is not essential to meet public water supply, and where
it damages nature conservation interests. Where schemes for creating
additional capacity are the most appropriate means to address
water shortages, it is essential that benefits for wildlife are
maximised and that reductions on abstraction in environmentally
sensitive areas are sought.
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
April 2004
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