The impact of water on development

South West Water’s recent extension to, and expansion of, the hosepipe ban in Devon and Cornwall, and the continuing drought status indicates the south of the UK is struggling for water, whilst other parts of the country are facing the opposite problem. What does this mean as the government focuses more heavily on water stress and use?

Recent changes in climate, with lower rainfall and higher seasonal temperatures, has depleted reservoirs and aquifers compared to previous years. Added to this, the Met Office annual global temperature forecast for 2023 suggests that this year will be one of the hottest years on record with long periods of little or no rainfall. These changes are being faced across the country with more heatwaves and limited rainfall predicted again this year, increasing water stress in the UK.

Environmental Improvement Plan

In February 2023, the government released an Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) for the UK, identifying ambitious new targets for companies, industry, and other businesses towards environmental improvement with ‘clean and plentiful water for all’ being a key goal. These drivers to improve the efficiency of water supply will be placed in the spotlight in coming months as public awareness of water scarcity increases and deadlines for the targets approach.

The EIP identifies a long-term target reduction of water consumption per head as 20% by 2038. This will likely result in an expectation on all water users to design water efficient schemes and meet stringent daily water use values, putting the emphasis on everyone to operate differently and introduce water saving strategies into their processes. We have already seen the impact of this on our projects, with requirements to reduce water consumption to between 80 and 110 l/person/day.

What impact could this have on your project?

The implication that a change in water use on all levels and in all areas of industry will be required moving forward means, based on EIP targets, approximately 2 billion litres of water per day (equivalent to volume of 800 Olympic sized swimming pools) will need to be sourced through the reduction of water demand in existing and proposed development.

New development will need to include water efficiency and water reuse measures. Water efficiency labelling on household appliances will become mandatory and it is anticipated that water companies will push the mandatory installation of water meters so that leaks can be more accurately identified and repaired.

The planning system is expected to take note of the targets and apply strict water use limits to new development, which we are already seeing in the south and south east of the UK.

Given that typical water use in traditional households may be in the region of 145 to 150 litres per head per day, this indicates a significant change will be required to meet the target reduction of up to 40%.

Water efficiency and reuse measures will not be enough on their own, and active education will be needed to inform end users on their water footprint and the benefits of adopting a water saving culture.

The future

Our relationship with water is changing. It is no longer a perceived endless tap. Careful consideration, identification and design of water resources for developments is desperately needed to ensure that truly sustainable, and resilient, development can be achieved.

We need to focus our efforts on balancing water demand with sustainably water supplies, ensuring that we actively implement drought management measures to respond to our changing climate. It is imperative that we ensure development has an ultimately positive impact on our environment in the UK. This means paying particular attention to our natural water systems, ecosystems and water quality, in the immediate and long term to ensure true resilience in new development.

Our water resources team understand the challenges ahead, get in touch to see how we can assist you in addressing them: