Warnings about the UK’s fragile water supplies have been ignored for years, writes Michael Norton. Plus letters from Peter Fordham, Veronica Hardstaff and Jorgelina Marino
News about water shortages (Report, 12 August) brings with it a distinct feeling of deja vu: in the summer of 2012, England’s water supply was in a similar situation. The Institution of Civil Engineers, whose water expert panel I chaired, had just published its State of the Nation report, which pointed to a rating of four out of 10 for the UK’s water security.
We recommended full domestic metering with progressive tariff structures, and ambitious water resource developments to benefit people and agriculture. We engaged with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, but the view there was that full domestic metering was unnecessary and that new water resource investments could wait.
