England’s River Abstraction Levels Reach Record High

A new investigation into licensing data, carried out by the Guardian and Watershed Investigations, has found that the amount of water being abstracted from rivers around England has now reached record levels, with volumes up 76 percent in the last 20 years.

River abstraction now makes up for 61 percent of all water taken from the natural environment (up from the sub-40 per cent at the turn of the century), while groundwater use is up 53 per cent since 2018.

Conversely, the use of tidal water has dropped, where once it provided for nearly half of all total abstraction. Now, it represents just over a quarter.

Some of the increases can be put down to existing activities being licensed for the first time.

For example, some water usage is categorised as non-consumptive because it’s returned to the environment shortly after, such as in power station cooling, but according to campaigners this is not harmless as water is lost during the process and that which is returned is often polluted.

Maximum water volumes licensed to be abstracted from rivers and lakes has climbed by six per cent over the last ten years, while groundwater and tidal abstraction caps have dropped four per cent and 42 per cent respectively since 2013.

Unless action is taken urgently, an additional five billion litres of water a day will be necessary to ensure public supply by 2055, with an additional one billion litres available for industry and farming.

This will need to be delivered in the immediate term by focusing on water leak detection and repair, and by encouraging customers to use less… but new infrastructure will also need to be prioritised in order to ensure that demand doesn’t outstrip supply.

Nick Measham, chief executive of the WildFish conservation charity, told the news source: “Our rivers are under threat. We are putting extra demands on water resources when the rivers are running dry. When it does rain after persistent dry periods, we often return our water polluted, which means that river habitats for animals and plants are in serious trouble.”

What is water abstraction?

Water abstraction is the process of removing water from a river, lake or groundwater aquifers for use as drinking supplies, irrigation or industrial processes.

If, as a business, you intend to abstract over 20,000 litres of water per day, you’ll likely need to obtain an abstraction licence from the Environment Agency. Note that there are likely to be time limits linked to a common end date. If you’re being granted a licence for the first time, it will likely be issued for between six and 18 years.

How can businesses reduce their water usage?

If you’re keen to reduce your water abstraction volumes in order to reduce pressure on the nation’s resources, the good news is that there’s a lot that can be achieved in this regard… and the added benefit of doing so is that you’ll not only save water, but you’ll save money at the same time.

One of the most efficient ways of reducing water usage and consumption is to change business water supplier.

This process involves a water audit of your entire premises (including multiple locations where relevant), where water use including volumes is compared against what you’re being charged for.

The aim of this is to see if there are any discrepancies that may have resulted in you being overcharged, as well as allowing you to identify any weak areas across your site so you can bring in the most appropriate water-saving solutions and adjust these over time as required.

You could also consider utilising innovative technology like automated meter reading to help you save water and reduce your bills. Here, water usage is monitored across your site continuously through the use of a smart meter, tracking flow at hourly intervals.

If a spike in usage is seen, it suggests that there may be a problem somewhere on site, such as a leak, allowing you to take immediate action and resolve issues as they crop up. This more proactive way of working allows you to save time, money and water… so it’s a very real win-win.

If you’d like to find out more about how to prioritise sustainable water management as a business, get in touch with the SwitchWaterSupplier.com team today.