A group of peers has cautioned that England may face water shortages unless the British Government takes steps to bolster the nation’s water supply amidst increasing drought risks.
The House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee highlighted that England’s water system is under mounting pressure from climate change, population growth, leaks in public water supply, and water-intensive industries.
According to the cross-party group, while Britain does receive adequate rainfall, it needs to enhance the storage, management, and reuse of water to mitigate both drought and flooding as global warming effects intensify, as detailed in a report released last week.
Wildfire
To address these issues, the committee suggested that ministers should promote water reuse and rainwater harvesting, initiate awareness campaigns, and enhance water efficiency standards in homes as part of a comprehensive societal approach to balancing supply and demand.
This warning aligns with the Environment Agency’s projections that England could face a daily water deficit of five billion litres by 2055, equivalent to 2,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
England is already experiencing worsening drought conditions, with the 2025 water shortages being classified as a “nationally significant incident” due to the extensive areas affected and the significant damage to the environment and agriculture.
The arid conditions have impacted crop yields, disrupted the breeding of certain animals, damaged wetlands and river ecosystems, raised the risk of wildfires, and led to hosepipe bans in several regions.
Threats
Baroness Sheehan, chairperson of the committee, stated: “Climate change is heightening the drought risk through a combination of hotter summers and heavier winter rains, making rainwater capture and storage increasingly crucial.”
She noted that the experience in 2025 served as a “warning signal to the water and drought management system,” as the country is already experiencing a dry start to spring in 2026 and anticipating warmer “El Nino” weather patterns later this year.
“The government must take immediate action to secure England’s most critical resource for the future and collaborate with the public to ensure the taps remain running,” she emphasized.
The committee’s report advised that the government develop a comprehensive understanding of the threats to England’s water security.
Nature-based
To achieve this, the report suggests improving impact data and drought monitoring, and conducting a thorough environmental and economic assessment to weigh the cost of inaction against investments in drought resilience.
The report also recommends regulatory changes to encourage sectors that rely on environmental water to enhance drought resilience.
The group indicated that such changes could facilitate the construction of local resource reservoirs for locations like farms and golf courses and increase the flexibility of the system for licensing water abstraction to better support water resource projects.
The peers also urged ministers to release a prioritization plan for managing emergency droughts by autumn 2026 and to expand the implementation of nature-based solutions in both urban and rural areas.
The Environment Department (Defra) has been contacted for comment.
This Author
Rebecca Speare-Cole is the sustainability reporter at Press Association (PA).
