England’s water supply is under growing strain from a drought threat unless the Government acts, a cross-party Lords committee warned. The looming crisis is due to various factors
Britain’s water taps could run dry as the El Nino heatwave takes hold and climate change ramps up demand, peers have warned. England’s water supply is under growing strain from a drought threat unless the Government acts, a cross-party Lords committee said.
And it won’t be long before we’re 2,000 Olympic swimming pools worth of the wet stuff short of what we need. The looming crisis is due to a combination of climate change, population growth, public water supply leakage and water intensive industries, it said.
And the committee warned that without action the risk of drought in England threatens the water systems on which people and nature depend.
The “surviving drought: reclaim the rain” report, published today (May 21) by the Environment and Climate Change Committee, says the UK is not short of rain. But it warned the country must store, manage and reuse it much better to help prevent drought and flooding.
The committee is urging the Government to conduct a full environmental and economic assessment of drought, while acting to balance supply and demand. It advised launching awareness raising campaigns, improving water efficiency standards in homes and promoting water reuse and rainwater harvesting.
Baroness Sheehan, committee chairwoman, said: “Climate change is increasing the risk of drought through a combination of hotter summers and heavier winter rains, making the capture and storage of rainwater increasingly important. The experience of the 2025 drought sent a warning signal to the water and drought management system.
“We have already had a dry start to this spring, so it is critical that action is taken now to prepare for serious drought conditions, particularly as we enter a reported El Niño year.” She warned that if action is not taken, public water demand could exceed supply by five billion litres every day – equivalent to 2,000 Olympic swimming pools – by 2055.
“As a result, serious thought, planning and investment must go into managing the environmental and economic threats that drought poses to England,” Baroness Sheehan said. “Water is the foundation of life itself.
“The Government must act now to secure England’s most vital resource for the future and work with the public to ensure the taps don’t run dry.”
El Niño is a recurring climate pattern characterized by the unusual warming of sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. It disrupts normal atmospheric conditions, triggering shifts in global weather, ocean currents, and marine ecosystems. It occurs every few years and the next year is said to be a big one.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) was contacted for comment.
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