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.
Ten years on and we are in a worse position. Farmers lack water for irrigation, and an increasing number of households are experiencing water restrictions. Water companies have built little or no additional storage, largely due to the view of the regulator, Ofwat, that customers are unable to afford raised tariffs and that “resilience” can be achieved in other ways.
Management of water resources represents a huge economic opportunity. Multipurpose water resource developments can bring flood control, energy generation and water for agriculture, in addition to a more secure domestic water supply. The case for investment is clear, as it has been for at least 10 years. In a sense I hope that the drought will continue, because any sign of rain will convince politicians and regulators to forget – as they did in 2012.
Michael Norton
Long Newnton, Gloucestershire
• Your editorial (9 August) claims that “private-sector efficiency did not provide better service”. I worked in the water sector for nearly 40 years pre- and post-privatisation. On most metrics, including leakage, resilience and sustainability, there have been significant improvements since privatisation. We need a more balanced and evidence-based debate as to whether nationalisation will deliver on what is needed.
Peter Fordham
Alderholt, Dorset
• When I was first elected to Sheffield city council, in 1971, water was run by the council, and the chair of the water committee responded rapidly when I informed him that dead fish had been seen in one of our rivers. Staff acted immediately to identify the cause and rectify it.
When water was handed over to Yorkshire Water in 1974, then a public body, it took over all the reservoirs and adjoining land, plus all the pipework, free of charge. But when the water industry was privatised, no compensation was paid to the councils that had built all the infrastructure, which has been improved little by the private firms.
Veronica Hardstaff
Sheffield
• The elephant in the room is that more than 3bn litres of water leak each day in the UK – equivalent to 1,245 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Why are ordinary people expected to change our habits when water companies profit without caring? Who gives a financial value to the contribution that we gardeners make towards keeping biodiversity, promoting pollination, soil improvement, pollution control and wellbeing? The responsible bodies should fix the pipes while I happily keep my garden alive and healthy.
Jorgelina Marino
Oxford
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