Water companies must do their job to ensure we keep drought at bay

NO one would describe the autumn of 2022 as ‘dry.’ But with a hot and arid summer behind us, much of Britain remains in a drought, with hosepipe bans still in force and the risk that further restrictions might be necessary if we don’t have a great deal more rain before next summer arrives.

It demonstrates very clearly that our water companies cannot rely on the traditional British summer weather – three hot days and a thunderstorm – to ensure the taps keep on running.

A new way of storing and moving water around to where it is needed must be found, if we are not to see a repeat of restrictions in the years ahead. Projections by experts for the National Drought Group show, as the Western Morning News reports today, that, if winter rainfall levels are 80% of the long-term average, depleted reservoirs and aquifers are unlikely to fully recover, and farmers’ water supply storage reservoirs may not fully refill.

Taunton MP and Water Minister Rebecca Pow is right to urge water companies to continue to plan their water resources and take precautionary steps to ensure water resilience. Businesses like South West Water are rightly in the spotlight at the moment, for both the way it manages supplies and the way it deals with sewage. In both cases, while the company has made significant improvements in both areas over the past several decades, there is no room for complacency.

Ms Pow says one thing the companies must do is emphasis to the public that water “shouldn’t be taken for granted”. Of course we all have a duty to use water wisely – not least because many people are on a metered supply and being reckless with water use is costly, but it is not the job of the public to manage water supplies.

We pay enough for the service and South West Water’s shareholders, through its parent company, Pennon, are handsomely rewarded for their investment in the business. In return, customers have a right to expect the water that they need, where they need it and when they need it.

External forces, from the war in Ukraine to the aftermath of the Covid disaster, are having an impact on a range of vital services we all need. The risk of power blackouts this winter is a real one; eye-watering energy costs are already with us and the fear that another dry summer could leave some areas desperately short of water is justified.

That must be a call to arms for the water companies. John Leyland, Environment Agency executive director and chairman of the National Drought Group, put things rather more bluntly than Ms Pow.

The Minister should take a leaf out of his book. He said: “Over winter, we expect water companies to fix and reduce leaks, identify new sources of water and work with farmers, growers and other sectors to protect our precious water resources should drought remain next year.”

Water is a precious resource, but our privatised water companies have the wherewithal to make sure we have enough of it. Let’s make sure they do their job.