In an exclusive, we spoke to each of the regulators in the UK about the challenges associated with water in their regions. Representatives from
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)
Northern Ireland's Environment and Heritage Service (EHS)
and the Environment Agency (EA),
all responsible for regulating and protecting water in the UK, give their views:
Challenges across the UK
The greatest challenge over the next 12 months, as perceived by the Environment Agency, is the current drought in the South East of England. "Businesses can play a vital role in this by ensuring that they are using water as efficiently as possible. Performing a simple water audit can often highlight both process and domestic type uses where significant savings can be made. In addition, in a drought year there may be areas where they can voluntarily reduce their water use in the short term - for example washing of vehicles or by turning off water features."
In England and Wales, water usage by industry is equivalent to that by householders. The EA confirm "manufacturing and commerce accounts for about 40% of consumptive activities (excluding activities such as power generation or fish farming that return water to the same place that it was abstracted from). Households use another 40% and about 20% is lost through leakage in water company pipes."
In Northern Ireland, "We are all aware that we need to use water more efficiently to help ensure that there is enough to meet our future needs and indeed recent indications of water shortages in Northern Ireland's reservoirs have served to highlight our responsibilities."
Even countries not traditionally associated with water shortages, i.e. Scotland and Wales, are not free from problems. SEPA state: "although we have more than our fair share of rain, we don't always get it where we need it most. Moving water takes a lot of energy and can have an impact on the environment, as can the production of effluent and its discharge."
SEPA also highlights the gap between knowledge and action: "A recent survey carried out on behalf of NetRegs makes stark reading ... while some Scottish businesses understand the impact they have on the environment, too many are not implementing measures to reduce their negative impact."
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