Brits face summer hosepipe ban despite enduring wettest 18 months on record
BRITAIN faces hosepipe bans and water shortages this summer — despite the wettest 18 months on record.
Experts blame supply fears on a shortage of reservoirs and infrastructure problems.
The warning comes despite 1,696mm of rain falling between October 2022 and last month in England.
Rainfall was nearly a third higher than usual in the three months to February.
But the lack of storage facilities means not enough can be stockpiled for the summer.
About 30 new reservoirs are believed to be needed to safeguard the UK’s growing demands for water.
The most recent reservoir built was in 1992 — but the population has since gone up by 11million.
The National Infrastructure Commission said between 2.5 and four billion litres of additional water capacity would be needed a day by 2050 to maintain current service.
Prof Hannah Cloake, of the University of Reading, said: “We need to realise that our water infrastructure is creaking and required billions of pounds of investment.”
One reservoir in Havant, Hants, got permission in 2021 and has a 2029 target date.
Plans are being put together for ones in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, too.
Defra said in 2023 it was unlocking £500million in investment for new water facilities.