England must harvest rainfall and take action on water usage, Lords warn | Water

The government has been told that an urgent campaign to reduce rainwater harvesting, household greywater use and water use across society is vital to avoid a water shortage of 5 billion liters a day by 2055.

Without intervention, the UK will face severe water shortages in the coming years as weather conditions driven by climate change, population growth and the expansion of water-intensive industries such as data centers place excessive demands on resources and endanger life, according to the House of Lords. report It was published on Thursday.

His colleagues on the Environment and Climate Change Committee said that unless urgent action was taken, the country faced a water shortage of 5 billion liters a day, the equivalent of 2,000 Olympic-sized pools of water every day.

Last year’s driest spring in 132 years led to long-term drought across England. Droughts will become more frequent as a result of global warming and more reservoirs will need to be built to prevent the risk of taps running dry, the government’s climate advisers have warned in a major report.

Lords committee chairman Shas Sheehan said: “Climate change is increasing the risk of drought due to hotter summers and heavier winter rains, and capturing and storing rainwater is becoming increasingly important.

“The experience of the 2025 drought sent a warning signal to the water and drought management system. We’re already off to a dry start this spring, so it’s critical to take action now to prepare for severe drought conditions, especially as we enter a year with reported El Niño.”

The committee’s report stated that there is a need for more effective management of rainfall through better storage, supply and reuse. He requested:

• Changes to building regulations to reach a maximum water use of 105 liters per person in new homes and to accelerate the reuse of greywater.

• Nature-based solutions such as restoring peat bogs and reconnecting rivers to natural flood plains to increase water retention.

• An urgent awareness campaign covering the whole society to reduce water use.

• A full environmental and economic assessment of drought to weigh the cost of inaction against the value of resilience.

• Making nature-based solutions more widely available in urban and rural environments.

No new reservoirs have been built by water companies in England for over 30 years. Nine are currently planned, but the report warned that these would take many years to come online and should not be seen as an alternative to urgent action to reduce water demand.

The report states that leaks from pipes, most of which belong to water companies, account for 19% of water demand. “Actions to reduce leakage should remain a government priority, as water lost to seepage undermines public support for other drought mitigation measures,” the report said.

“Drought is an ever-present threat that seems dormant in winter but looms large in summer,” his colleagues said. “Water is the foundation of life – the government must act now to secure Britain’s most vital resource for the future.”