Report highlights need for holistic water resilience planning

An integrated approach to water resource management that views the natural environment as an asset rather than a resource has been touted as a key approach to boost resilience to drought, water scarcity and the impacts of climate change.

The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology highlighted the work undertaken by the water sector through water resource management plans together with Defra, the Environment Agency, Ofwat and other stakeholders to increase resilience in England.

The report called Water supply resilience and climate change noted the benefits of a holistic, systems-based approach to managing resources and proactively planning for a drier future. It praised work by regional water resource management groups for aiding cross-sector collaboration and input.

An open dialogue between stakeholders was noted as a route to enable inclusive decision-making by identifying what would be acceptable trade-offs and options for multi-sector collaboration and investment.

However, achieving this would need barriers to be overcome including social, psychological, organisational and regulatory in order to improve communication between stakeholders, policy makers and the public.

The report noted a need for better understanding by the public of how their water use impacts the environment as a way to cut consumption. It suggested a move towards communication strategies that are tailored to a sense of place, local culture and value for the environment as a way to reframe how people think about water-related risks and climate change.

Water efficiency measures are important for improving water supply resilience and achieving net zero. Improvements in household and non-household efficiency and leakage have the potential to make significant contributions to improving water security and mitigating climate change impacts.

The report noted the need for water efficiency labelling of products, which, based on the Australian model, could cut consumption by 27 litres per day. Such a scheme would signal to the public and to manufacturers that water efficiency is a priority, which the report suggested could help reframe perceptions of drought and water scarcity as well as driving innovation in the sector.

As well as making new build homes water efficient, the report said retrofitting water efficient measures into the UK’s 29 million existing homes would be needed to ensure resilience to the impacts of climate change.

Defra’s response to a 2019 consultation on reducing personal water consumption has been delayed because of pressures on parliamentary time since the outbreak of Covid-19. It is anticipated to include a target for per capita consumption.