House of Commons - Environmental Audit

Select Committee on Environmental Audit Fifth Report

Water Infrastructure

74. It is important to stress that the fact that we decided to look at the water infrastructure does not mean that we consider the provision of hospitals and schools, for example, as somehow less important. Rather, by focusing on water we simply recognise that it is the one fundamental resource without which none of the other forms of infrastructure can possibly function. Water is the one natural resource for which there is no alternative and anxiety about its continued availability is understandable and justified.

Background

75. Concerns about the security of the water supply and the state of the water infrastructure are not new. In 2001 the Environment Agency published its report, Water resources for the future: A strategy for England and Wales, in which it summarised the position as follows:

Rainfall amounts vary across England and Wales. Most of our weather systems come from the west, and this means that the higher land in the west receives more rain than the flatter land in the east. The average rainfall in England and Wales is 897 mm/year, but the total amount ranges from over 4000 mm/year in the mountains of Wales to less than 550 mm/year in parts of East Anglia.

However, year-to-year variability in rainfall can be significant. Long dry periods that span several years can also be important. England and Wales are commonly perceived as wet. The natural variability of our climate means that we experience extremes of flood and drought. While on average some parts of England and Wales receive relatively large volumes of rain, we also have a high population density. The result is that, for each person, there is relatively little water.

In particular, parts of south east England have to cope with very limited rainfall per person. This is an important fact, and one which is not often recognised.[

76. In October 2005, when we were considering what aspects of infrastructure we might need to focus on, water, or rather the lack of it, was receiving a lot of media attention. The South East of England was in the grip of a very dry spell of weather, hosepipe bans had either been applied, or were threatened, and pictures of seriously under-resourced reservoirs were frequently published. We judged it timely, therefore, to assess the security of the water supply and whether the water companies were doing enough to secure the supply of water resources, not only to the four Growth Areas, but to existing customers in the South East of England. We also asked whether it was thought that the water companies, the Environment Agency and the Government were doing enough to educate people about the need for water efficiency.

77. In fact, since we launched our inquiry the position with regard to water supplies in the South East of England has worsened. In a news release, on 2 February 2006, the Met Office stated that England and Wales had had the driest January for almost a decade, with some parts of the UK receiving less than a third of their average rainfall so far this year. However, this is not just one dry month but the latest in a 15 month dry spell which stretches back to November 2004. The Met Office reports that since November 2004, "13 out of the last 15 months have recorded below 1961-1990 average rainfall for south east and central-southern England, with the worst affected areas being Hampshire, Sussex, Surrey, Middlesex and Kent, which have received around 70% of their normal rainfall".[88]

78. Reports of shrinking reservoirs and depleted ground water levels have continued unabated and 2006 looks set to be equally challenging for the water resources of the South East, in particular. These dire circumstances were highlighted by the Environment Agency's Chief Executive, Barbara Young, who was quoted in an article on 2 February 2006. Under the headline " Standpipes threat after driest winter since 1976", the article claimed that "millions of families face water shortages following the driest winter for 30 years". The article goes on to say, " last night the Environment Agency warned that John Prescott's plans for a million new homes in the South East could lead to water supplies running out", and that Britain was "drinking in the last chance saloon", unless it found ways to limit the impact of such a huge population rise. Barbara Young is quoted as saying,

79. We had spoken to Elliot Morley on 31 January, just two days before Barbara Young's statement. We had asked him whether he could envisage a time when water would only be available for part of the day. Mr Morley was quite clear that this would represent a planning failure. He told us,

On the same day that the articles appeared, and in response to press speculation about the on-going drought in the South East, Mr Morley issued a press release urging consumers, businesses and water companies to be mindful of their own role in preventing a serious water shortage in the South East. Mr Morley was quoted as saying,

Since Mr Morley's statement, however, the situation has deteriorated. On 24^th February, the Environment Agency issued a further press release which called on water companies in the South East of England to introduce hosepipe bans as of April. The Agency judged this a necessary move if "more extreme measures, such as standpipes and rota cuts", were to be avoided in the summer months.[92]

Security of water supplies in the South East and the four Growth Areas - can the water companies cope with demand?

80. The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) submitted its evidence to us before the Government published its response to the Barker Review, and before it was announced that, in fact, the intention to build 150,000 new homes per year by 2016 had been revised to 200,000 homes per year. CIWEM told us,

There is no escaping that the growth areas of the Sustainable Communities Plan have been assigned to those parts of the country which are driest, have the greatest water demand and are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change in this context. The imposition of ambitious water efficiency targets on new developments in these areas may mitigate the problem, but doesn't remove it, as the achievement is only a reduction in the overall increase in total demand.[

81. In its written evidence to us, the Environment Agency said that "accelerated development in the South and East of England, in particular, will stretch the capability of some environmental infrastructure to cope".[94] Given the statements made by the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, this predicted stretch is already well under way and there would appear to be every reason to be worried about the security of the water supply to the South East of England.

82. Therefore, it is clear that there is little prospect of the South East of England escaping the increasingly damaging impact of climate change. It is equally clear that, regardless of any environmental concerns, a significant number of new homes will be built in the region in the next ten years. In water supply terms these two facts do not make happy bedfellows. We do not believe that there is a cure-all solution to the water supply issues in the South East and if existing, as well as new, homes are to enjoy a secure water supply, and if the regions rivers and water courses are not to be decimated by the increased demand, then much rests on the water companies ability to meet that demand, reduce the amount of water lost through leakage, and raise awareness of the water efficiency measures people can adopt at home.

83. All water companies have to submit water resource plans as part of the periodic review of water company prices. These plans are a 25 year forward look at how the companies intend to provide sufficient water to meet customer's water needs, whilst at the same time protecting and enhancing the environment. For those water companies operating in the South East these plans would automatically take into account the possible range of conditions arising from the natural geography of the region and its climate. These plans are then assessed by the Environment Agency and are subject to an annual review. The last set of water resource plans were submitted in April 2004, before the water companies would have known about the planned increase in new build from 150,000 to 200,000 per year. We were curious to know whether, on this basis, the water companies might find themselves in some difficulty. In his evidence to us, Sir John Harman, Chairman of the Environment Agency, said that the fact that the water company plans are for twenty or so years ahead meant that "there is in no case an issue where we are going to hit the buffers in the next couple of years".[95] When we spoke to RWE Thames Water we asked them whether they thought their plans would be able to cope with the inevitable increase in demand for water. Richard Aylard, Director of External Affairs and Environment for Thames, said that as the plans cover a 25 year period, and that these plans are reviewed annually and up-dated every five years, he was sure that the company would have factored the additional numbers into the plan. Rob Harrison, Director of Asset Management for Thames Water, said that whilst the increase was a "significant issue…it can be accommodated provided the phasing of developments is correct".[96]

84. Certainly the way in which the new communities are phased in will be crucial if supporting infrastructure, including water, is to be available in time. When we spoke to Sir John Harman, we asked him whether he thought the Government was planning ahead and making the provision of infrastructure a precondition of growth. He said that "it was not doing as well as it might".[97] Sir John illustrated his point using the example of Corby, where the intention appears to have been to build 30,000 new homes "on top of an area with no main river to take away the sewage". Sir John said that solutions to this problem should have been thought of " a bit earlier" in the process and that "these things are being thought about later than they should be".[98] However, the fact that the Environment Agency is now warning that standpipes and rota cuts may be necessary this summer, creating a real risk that water customers will have their access to water rationed in some way, would seem to suggest that current water company plans are in danger of failing. As climate change bites in the South East we can expect to see these weather patterns repeated more frequently and we cannot help but be deeply worried about the South East's ability to cope with the increased water demands as a result of the Government's intention to build 200,00 new homes per year by 2016.

Managing demand—does this have to mean new infrastructure?

85. The Environment Agency has told us that it is likely that there will need to be an additional four or five new reservoirs in the East and South East of England in the next 15 years. Thames Water is one of those water companies which has said it will need to build a new reservoir and when we spoke to Richard Aylard (Thames Water) he explained the position the company finds itself in and why it believes that a new reservoir will be essential if Thames is to keep up with demand. He said,

It is really three things. First of all, it is the impact of climate change, which we expect to be getting really quite severe by 2020 with longer, drier springs and summers. The second is population growth. In our supply area alone we expect to have an extra 800,000 people to supply water to by 2016, that is in ten tear's time. The third thing is our existing customers are using around one per cent more water every year which compounds over time. More and more people are using power showers, most people now have dishwashers, water use is going up despite our best efforts with water efficiency campaigns and also, of course, our top priority which is to get leakage down in London.[

86. However, timing is a crucial issue when planning essential infrastructure like water supply and waste water disposal, which we believe must be in place in advance of any new developments being built. A perfect illustration of this was given to us by Thames Water. Thames Water have told us that from start to finish a new reservoir would take 20 years to plan, develop and then build. This presents a fundamental difficulty given that Thames is responsible for a significant proportion of the water which will have to be supplied to many of the new communities planned for the four Growth Areas. If ODPM remains wedded to the target of building 200,000 new homes per year by 2016 then it seems clear to us that some of the necessary water infrastructure will not be ready in time.

87. In its written evidence to us, RSPB expressed concern that there was too great a reliance on creating new infrastructure, whether that is new reservoirs, desalination plants like the one Thames Water has applied to build, river abstraction or inter-basin transfers, to secure the supply of water to the new Growth Areas. None of these options are environmentally benign. In its written evidence, WWF said, "water supply concerns represent an increasing and very real long-term pressure, with significant negative impacts on the freshwater environment."[100] Over-abstraction of rivers and groundwater supplies, by as much as 10% and 26% respectively, could also mean that England and Wales will fall foul of the Water Framework Directive. In fact, failure to comply with the Directive could mean that water companies will lose access to particular sources of water, making the problem even worse.

88. Building our way out of this problem, therefore, is not the solution—or at least not the only solution. Like many of those who have contributed to this inquiry, RSPB argue that it is vital that the Government does more to manage the rising trends in demand. Thames Water illustrated just how important demand management is going to be for them in the next 25 years. Rob Harrison told us,

101

89. One instrument for managing demand is the use of water meters. The Water Industry Act 1999 provided household customers with the option of a free water meter fitted in their homes. The water companies were able to install meters at the point at which a home changed hands or in those homes with exceptionally high usage because of swimming pools or large watered gardens. However, the Act also made provision for a water company to make a local case for compulsory metering for water conservation reasons.

90. On 1^st March Elliot Morley announced that the Government had agreed for the first time to an application for "area of water scarcity status", made by the Folkestone and Dover Water Company. This means that the company can compulsorily meter all of its customers and it has announced that it intends to increase the number of households which have meters from the current level of 40%, to 90% in the next ten years. Announcing the move, Elliot Morley was clear that his decision was "a considered response to the long-term challenges facing Folkestone and Dover Water Company; it is not a reaction to the short-term problem of low rainfall in the South East of England". Mr Morley went on to say that the company had "established the case that, in its area over the next ten years, it will face great difficulty in assuring that limited supplies will cover increasing demands for water".[102] This decision has created a huge amount of interest and media coverage, which we will discuss later in this report when we talk about public awareness of the water supply issues in the South East of England, but what it has also done is open the door for other water companies in the South East of England to make similar applications. If Folkestone and Dover water company can make a successful application for "water scarcity status" on the basis of concerns about meeting demand over the next ten years, then most of the water companies in the South East of England can, and will, make similar cases. Whilst this is not an issue for those buying new homes in the four Growth Areas, as their homes will have meters anyway, it will certainly impact on existing residents in those regions who will have water meters imposed on them. We are certain that this possibility will not have occurred to many living in these regions and ODPM and Defra will need to work quickly to address the many questions people will have.

91. But meters are by no means the solution to the whole problem and they are certainly not an easy option in many respects. There is a very real concern that water metering will put pressure on low-income consumers. This is something our predecessor Committee looked at in its Report, Water: The Periodic Review 2004 and the Environmental Programme, published in May 2004.[103] Echoing a recommendation made by the EFRA Committee in its earlier report, the Committee said that, "people suffering from serious difficulty in paying their bills should be helped through the benefits and tax credit system". We believe that this is still relevant today and we welcome Elliot Morley's commitment to "pay particular attention to the sensitive introduction of meters to households and to the effects on customer bills, especially of those least able to pay." The vulnerable groups scheme already in place will provide protection from high metered bills for customers with large families or certain medial conditions who are in receipt of certain benefits." There are also practical difficulties to be overcome in trying to fit meters in some shared homes, such as flats, but there is also some concern that having a meter installed simply promotes the idea that as long as you can afford to pay for what you consume you can use as much water as you want to. Clearly this is not the intended or desired outcome.

92. The fact that so much water is still being lost through leakage is also unacceptable. Whilst we accept that water companies are working to reduce leakages, and we acknowledge that some of our water infrastructure is old, it is clear that unless real progress is made in dealing with the unacceptable levels of water lost through leakage, it is going to be very difficult to justify imposing restrictions on use, or introducing compulsory water meters. During our evidence session with Thames Water we were told that about a third of Islington's water is lost through leakages, and this is despite Thames Water's current programme for dealing with leaks.[104] To combat this loss, which is repeated across North London, Thames told us that it is replacing 850 miles of mains, at a cost of £540 million and spending £90 million per year on finding and fixing leaks. Islington and other London Boroughs are not alone in being blighted by this level and frequency of leakage, however; it is a scenario played out across the South East of England. Whilst loss of water through leakages continues at unacceptable levels it is going to be very difficult to convince consumers that the water companies are doing their part in saving water.

93. The Environment Agency advocates what it calls a "twin track approach" which it sees "as essential to balance the social, environmental and economic needs of housing growth".[105] The Agency believes that this approach, balancing the need for new reservoirs with the use of lower cost, more flexible opportunities to secure more efficient use of the existing water resource, is going to be essential. The Agency has said that the success of this approach will depend on a number of things, such as:

More rapid household metering penetration
Higher water efficiency standards in new housing stock
The development of incentives to encourage retrofit of existing stock
More public awareness
Water labelling of fixtures, fittings and appliances
Market Transformation strategies to accelerate adoption of more efficient products in the do-it-yourself and retrofit markets

Some of these measures would not actually require too much effort or, indeed, sacrifice on the part of the individual. Paul King, WWF, listed a number of very simple changes which would not involve too much effort or expense on the part of the individual, such as replacing conventional toilets with dual flush toilets, or inserting sprays into taps and shower fittings, for example, which could save as much as 30 per cent on a household's water use. Clearly some of these water saving measures will become common place as they become the only options available in the DIY stores and trade wholesalers, certainly that is the case with dual flush toilets. The gradual awakening to the implications of possible widespread compulsory water metering in the South East of England will also help this process along. However, there is little doubt that if we are to address seriously the rising trend in the demand for water, a number of the options available to us represent a significant challenge and will only be achieved as the result of major behavioural change. We support the Environment Agency's "twin track approach" to balancing the social, environmental and economic needs of housing growth.

Public Awareness

94. Despite the media coverage of the current and prolonged drought in the South and South East of England, despite the pictures of half full reservoirs, and despite the increasing awareness of the impact of climate change on the South and South East of England, public awareness of the extent to which individual households are both part of the problem, and the solution, is very poor. One problem, of course, is that most people believe that the UK has a very wet climate. When we see television coverage of some of the devastating flash floods that have occurred in various parts of the UK in the last few years it is not hard to see why they would think that that is the case. Certainly there are parts of the UK which are not starved of water and where the local reservoirs are full or almost full. But this does not apply to large parts of the South and South East of England where the increasingly damaging effects of climate change will be most severely felt. How many people know, for example, that London gets less rainfall than Rome, Istanbul or Dallas?[106]

95. Colin Fenn, Chairman of the CIWEM Water Resources Panel said that there was "a need for us as a nation to encourage our people to value water more highly than they currently do…the need for us to arrest, perhaps, this rush towards this profligate water using lifestyle".[107] Of course, the fact that Folkestone and Dover Water have won the right to impose compulsory water meters on its customers will certainly concentrate the minds of consumers and raise awareness of the issues around water supply and the possibility that other areas of the country may yet have to have compulsory water meters too. This growing awareness must be exploited by Defra to really raise the profile of water supply issues.

96. We believe there is much the Government could be doing to encourage public awareness and to curb the rising trend in water demand. Indeed, once existing consumers in the South and South East of England begin to realise just how dire the current situation is, how much climate change is going to impact on their daily lives in the future, and that the Government's continued commitment to build 200,000 new homes per year by 2016 will only exacerbate the problem, the Government is going to have to work very hard to win over public opinion.

97. The Government created the Water Savings Group last year in order "to try and encourage more water conservation and further the promotion of water efficiency".[108] The Group is Chaired by Elliot Morley and is attended by representatives from Defra, ODPM, Ofwat, the Environment Agency, water companies, the Consumer Council for Water. Water UK and waterwise. The Group only met for the first time in October 2005 so we were not able to get much of a sense about any early progress the Group may have made in its first few months. However, it does now have an Action Plan which sets out various work streams which will be taken forward by the various officials and organisations involved and who will then report back to the Group at the next meeting. But, these meetings are held only every six months and there is no indication in the Action Plan as to how long these work streams will take. The Water Savings Group is still in its infancy and has much ground to cover in what we suggest should be a very short time. Given the urgent need for action with regard to water supply and demand management, we expect to see evidence of positive and early action emerging from the Group.

87 http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk Back

88 www.metoffice.gov.uk/corporate/pressoffice/2006 Back

89 Daily Mail, Thursday 2 February 2006 Back

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91 www.defra.gov.uk/news ref 48/06 Back

92 www.environment-agency.gov.uk/news Back

93 The Chartered Institution of Water and Waste Management Back

94 EV14 Back

95 Q76 Back

96 Q209 Back

97 Q75 Back

98 Q76 Back