Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of climate change on water security.

Water companies are required by law to publish a water resources management plan (WRMP) that sets out how they will provide secure public water supplies for a 25-year period (as a minimum). This includes a detailed assessment of the effect of climate change on water supply (and demand). Water companies have just published the latest WRMPs, and this assessment shows that, in England, the quantity of water needed to replace water that will be lost due to the impacts of climate change on water supplies by 2050 is 642 million litres per day. Water companies outline in WRMPs how they plan to manage water supplies to ensure that they are resilient to climate change and other factors such as improving resilience to droughts, population growth, business growth needs and protecting and improving the water environment. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs provides permission to publish the WRMPs, once he is satisfied the plans produced by water companies demonstrate a secure supply of water.

In addition, the Environment Agency’s National Framework for Water Resources published in March 2020, set out the strategic water needs for England up to 2050 and beyond. This included an assessment of the likely effect of climate change on water availability. The Framework sets out how water security will be maintained through actions such as halving leakage, reducing demand and developing new water supply infrastructure. A new framework will be released in late spring/early summer.

The most recent WRMPs (WRMP24) have been assessed by the Environment Agency and a summary published (A summary of England’s revised draft regional and water resources management plans - GOV.UK).