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The issue of water availability needs to be at the heart of policy and planning decision making in order to ensure sustainable supplies for the future, according to Water UK.
Speaking at a Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) debate on Wednesday, Water UK’s director of environment Sarah Mukherjee warned that currently the water sector is working around plans that do not centrally consider their water supplies.
She said the whole industry “has been incredibly good” at managing increasing demands from new developments and increased consumption, but warned the “solution clingfilm will only stretch so far”.
Mukherjee added: “When we are talking about building new communities, the first question we ask is not ―where is the water?
“It’s normally where is the economic growth, assuming that the water will arrive – somehow.”
Despite the government’s National Infrastructure Plan, which was published on Tuesday, stating that water supply and sewerage networks were a top 40 priority, Mukherjee called for water availability to form a more central part to planning decisions.
She said: “We can increasingly not just assume it will be there when we need it.
“We need to think about water availability, how we plan, how we husband it, and how we capture increasingly heavy winter rainfall as and when it comes.”
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