Bringing water to the masses

Seventy-eight million people.

That’s the number of citizens the Office for National Statistics forecasts will be living in the UK in 2050 (up from just under 70 million today). This swelling population will require about five billion litres of extra water for domestic, industrial and agricultural use, according to The Environment Agency.

Where is all that water going to come from?

There are huge opportunities to make savings, the agency points out. The widespread smart meter rollout is a chance to encourage domestic and industrial customers to use water more carefully. Improved technology also promises the ability to tackle leaks in new and innovative ways.

But saving water on its own won’t be enough, and the last new drinking water reservoir (Carsington Water in Derbyshire) was completed more than 30 years ago, in 1992. That is why Ofwat is progressing plans for new reservoirs as part of a package of 12 water supply schemes, Portsmouth Water has embarked on the construction of a reservoir in Havant, and Anglian Water is actively pursuing plans for two additional reservoirs.

These new reservoirs are not anticipated to come online until 2035 at the earliest, highlighting the significant lead times and challenges associated with such large-scale infrastructure projects. Of course, the additional volumes of water will need treatment and distribution to our homes and places of business, so what if existing assets were repurposed in innovative ways to deliver some of the increased water supply needed?

Ian Mellor, chief operating officer at leading water industry specialist supplier Stonbury, points out that “thinking creatively about how to maximise the value of existing assets provides an enormous opportunity”. Construction materials company Sika, which helps deliver rehabilitated infrastructure for water, concurs. “There are opportunities associated with using existing assets and infrastructure to prepare for and mitigate the long-term challenges facing the water industry,” it says.