It seems that water is once again fanning the flames of political rhetoric, as the UK searches for a national strategy to equate supply and demand.
The UK's current water policy framework is ‘not robust enough’, according to environment minister Ian Pearson. The comment was made last week, as he launched a debate on a revised National Water Strategy.
Speaking to an industry audience at a seminar on the link between climate change and water, Pearson called for preconceptions and policies to change to meet the increasing challenges posed by changing climate, housing patterns and lifestyles.
"With the wettest autumn and winter since 1914, the threat of water shortages this summer looks unlikely", he said. "But this April average temperatures in the UK look likely to be at record highs, so there is no room for complacency.
“England and Wales already have less water per person than in most Mediterranean countries. In the south east, there is less water per person than in Syria or the Sudan. And that is the situation today. As demographic changes and the impacts of climate change increasingly begin to be felt, the situation could become even more serious.”
"Last year's drought was a microcosm of the challenges we will face. Along with the science on future climate impacts it has convinced me that our current water policy framework will not be robust enough to withstand these challenges.”
Pearson emphasised the need for climate change to be at the heart of the revised National Water Strategy, which will be published later this year.
Pearson highlighted the impact of water pollution, and the responsibility of all sectors, including business, agriculture, and individuals to work to reduce this, not just for the ecological benefits it would bring but to reduce the knock-on effect of higher treatment requirements and energy use.
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