Millions of people in England are under hosepipe bans this summer following extreme dry weather, but data from regulator Ofwat shows water companies in England and Wales are losing 2.8 billion litres of treated water every day through leaking pipes. That amount could fill 1,150 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Campaigners criticise underinvestment
Alex Farquhar, campaigns officer at the Angling Trust, said: “People understand the need to follow hosepipe bans to protect supplies and river flows, but a ban is an emergency measure, not a water strategy.” He described the bans as a “legacy of decades of underinvestment and delay”.
The Angling Trust stated that the water saved from fixing leaking pipes would be around five times more than would be saved by a nationwide hosepipe ban. Mr Farquhar added: “No major new reservoir has opened in England since 1992. Government must get a grip on the industry to accelerate the replacement of ageing pipes and deliver the new reservoirs and water supplies that should have been built years ago.”
Privatised water under fire
Ashley Smith, of Windrush Against Sewage Pollution, said: “It is only natural that privatised water always goes for the options that extract the most money for its owners, and the decisions have been to sell reservoirs, not build them, to let pipes leak, not fix them and to suck rivers dry, not protect them.”
He added: “When that all goes wrong, they simply tell the customers to use less or have none! Yes we need to be careful with our water but I suspect most people would be more committed to that if it wasn't to help the company owners and bosses keep the money flowing to them while taps and rivers run dry for us.”
Future water shortfall warning
England faces a potential water-supply shortfall of more than 5 billion litres a day by the mid-2050s, the Climate Change Committee has warned. Water use in England and Wales is among the highest in Europe at about 140 litres per person each day.
In June, Ofwat, the Environment Agency, the Met Office, Natural Resources Wales and water firms announced a publicity campaign to encourage people to use less water.
River Action and Surfers Against Sewage weigh in
James Wallace, CEO of River Action, said: “Millions of people are under hosepipe bans across England and Wales. Once again, the public is being asked to shoulder the burden while billions of litres of water are lost every day through leaking pipes.”
He added: “Water companies have had decades to prepare for a changing climate, yet they chose to reward investors instead of investing in resilient infrastructure. Not a single new reservoir has been built since the industry was privatised in 1989.”
Jo Morley, head of campaigns at Surfers Against Sewage, said: “Andy Burnham must not pander to the polluters, and urgently take bold action on the water industry. He must remove the profit motive and bring failing water companies into public control, starting with Thames Water. The whole industry must be restructured to operate for the public good, not private profit. The public mandate for change is overwhelming, and the country needs to see decisive action, not more empty promises.”
Water UK has been contacted for comment.
