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The Environment Agency has defended the measured pace of abstraction reform as proposed in the government’s Water White Paper last month.
Some industry watchers warned the goal to implement a new abstraction regime “by the mid to late 2020s” was too remote and vulnerable to political risk.
Trevor Bishop, head of water resources at the Environment Agency, said the timescale was consistent with the rate of global warming. “The only reason you would need to do it quicker is if climate change was going to kick in a lot faster than we anticipate,” he said. Bishop added that there would need to be a detailed impact assessment before legislation could be introduced.
The agency’s “case for change” report on abstraction reform says: “By starting reform now, there will be time not only to assess and appraise options properly for the future but also to transition to a new system in a way which minimises risk to the environment, abstractors and water users, and so to society and the economy.”
The report sets out plans for a more flexible and dynamic abstraction management framework.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is set to consult on detailed proposals in 2013 and aims to introduce legislation early in the next Parliament. It will roll out the new regime in stages, starting with the most water-stressed catchments.
This article first appeared in Utility Week’s print edition of 27 January 2012.
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