Select Committee on Science and Technology Written Evidence


Elveden Farms Limited

CALL FOR EVIDENCE—WATER MANAGEMENT

ELVEDEN FARMS LIMITED

  Elveden Farms is a privately owned rural based business. The present owners have held the property for the past 111 years.

  Key statistics of the business are that it:

    —  owns over 9,500 ha rural land in the county of Suffolk;

    —  farms 4,000 ha on its own account, predominantly potatoes, onions, carrots and parsnips;

    —  manages over 1,500 ha. of dry and wetland heath under ESA and other agreements, much of it designated SSSI, ESA or County Wildlife Site;

    —  manages 2,000 ha of woodland and forest;

    —  manages over 230 domestic dwelling houses, mostly serviced by private water supply;

    —  directly employs over 100 people;

    —  offers recreational and sporting facilities of rural interest; and

    —  holds water abstraction licences totalling in excess of 2,500 megalitres per annum, mostly for spray irrigation but also for domestic and agricultural use.

  Elveden Farms has a strong and vested interest in all aspects of rural landscape management; from intensive commercial food production, to enhancing environmental diversity on rare habitat areas; from providing housing and employment to a stable rural population, to providing recreational and sporting opportunities to residents and visitors.

  Access to water is vital for the sustainable future of the land holding. The farming element remains the financial powerhouse and produces over 80,000 tonnes of fresh vegetables per annum. These are all programmed supplies for major UK food supply chains, including all the major multiple retailers and a number of high profile brand processors. The farming system produces high yields of safe, reliable food for Britain's population. It is a reliable, low-cost producer, close to its markets.

  The farming activities help to give the commercial strength and the resource base to look after the large areas of environmentally important landscape and to support an ever growing range of non-agricultural rural interests.

COMMENT ON QUESTIONS RAISED

Defining the problem

  The collective understanding and knowledge of how Britain's aquifer and river systems function is inadequate. Although research is being undertaken, I urge the Select Committee to look closely at ways of expanding our knowledge more quickly.

  A major factor underlying concern over water supply is that the area of greatest demand (the South and East of England), is also the area of greatest growth in demand, where rainfall is least, where food production is most important and where environmental concerns are least well defined.

  I do not believe the work done so far in assessing the magnitude of problems ahead has been in the least bit imaginative. Reports I have seen do little more than suggest we flush the loo less frequently, take fewer baths, don't wash the car, leave the garden to wither and take water away from food production.

  This is not the way forward for an advanced and sophisticated industrial society, it looks backwards not forwards, in comes up with reactions, not solutions.

  There is an inference that agriculture can be sacrificed to allow the expansion on the public water supply. This is neither necessary nor desirable and I urge the Committee to look at ways of ensuring the retention of food production as important and legitimate.

Supply and Demand

  There is the potential to increase the effective usable water supply by a number of methods, including:

    —  make better use of existing resources by improved infrastructure and more efficient use;

    —  reach a better understanding of the needs of the environment, it is possible we could reduce the use of the "precautionary principle" and release more water for legitimate commercial use;

    —  move water from areas of low demand to those of high demand; and

    —  develop novel sources of water, for example desalination of salt water and stripping water from the atmosphere.

  Demand for water at the point of use is most likely to rise. Economic instruments are a favoured method for influencing the behaviour of consumers and others. The planning system could be put to better use, ensuring that new developments, be they industrial, commercial or domestic, take proper account of an adequate supply of water, its efficient use and effective disposal. This could include developing and applying new technologies. Government could offer financial incentives or tax breaks to stimulate take up of new ideas.

  There is a huge opportunity for science and technology to help reach new solutions. This could include areas such as:

    —  lower cost piping and water transfer technology;

    —  systems for separating water of different qualities at point of use;

    —  developing novel water sources; and

    —  developing more efficient water use models for crop production.

Infrastructure

  There is plenty of evidence that the national public water supply infrastructure is in need of improvement. Some water companies have been less responsive than others in dealing with leakage. There is little incentive for them to invest in storage systems to buffer periods of high demand. At this stage the pressure is there for farmers and others to invest in winter storage, leaving all summer water available for public water supply.

Context

  I believe the regulatory framework is more than adequate, what we are lacking is sound science on which to base the application of existing regulatory powers. The regulatory framework exists to protect the environment and to ensure efficient use, what does not exist is the science to fully understand the needs of the environment. We can use water efficiently with known technology, we need to push technology forward to give us better tools to work with and move us to a new level.

  Government policy appears to be paying much lip service to water, but this has yet to be seen clearly in areas of planning. Housing developments appear to be popping up in areas of restricted water supply with no real evidence of how they are to be serviced in to the future.

  Agricultural need is accepted as a legitimate use of the water resource, but government has made it very clear that it does not care whether or not there is any food production in the UK. I believe this to be short-sighted for a number of reasons, not least of which is the broad environmental consequence of allowing food production to migrate further and further away from the point of consumption. If agriculture and food production are denied access to the national water supply, there will be a significant impact on the viability of rural England.

  Thank you for giving me the opportunity to comment on this subject. I urge the Committee to look carefully at the role of science and technology to enable us to take proper regard of the environment whilst at the same time developing techniques and systems which allow all legitimate water users, especially agriculture and food production, continued access to this most vital natural resource.

October 2005



 
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