Rainwater harvesting, the use of grey water in homes and an urgent campaign to reduce water usage across society are vital to prevent water shortages of 5bn litres a day by 2055, the government has been told.<\/p>\n
Without intervention, England will face severe water shortages in the coming decades, as climate change-induced weather patterns, population growth and the expansion of industries such as water-intensive datacentres put excessive demand on supplies and endanger life, according to a House of Lords report<\/a> published on Thursday.<\/p>\n Peers on the Environment and Climate Change Committee said without urgent action, the country would face daily water shortfalls of 5bn litres a day \u2013 equivalent to 2,000 Olympic-sized pools of water each day.<\/p>\n Last year the driest spring for 132 years led to prolonged drought<\/a> across England. The government\u2019s climate advisers warned in a major report<\/a> that drought would become more frequent as a result of global heating and more reservoirs must also be built to avoid the risk of the taps running dry.<\/p>\n Shas Sheehan, the chair of the Lords committee, said: \u201cClimate change is increasing the risk of drought through a combination of hotter summers and heavier winter rains making the capture and storage of rainwater increasingly important.<\/p>\n \u201cThe experience of the 2025 drought sent a warning signal to the water and drought management system. We have already had a dry start to this spring, so it is critical that action is taken now to prepare for serious drought conditions, particularly as we enter a reported El Ni\u00f1o<\/a> year.\u201d<\/p>\n The report by the committee said more effective management of rainfall was needed, through better storage, supply and reuse. It called for:<\/p>\n Changes to building regulations to require new homes to achieve a maximum water usage of 105 litres a person a day and accelerated grey water reuse.<\/p>\n Nature-based solutions such as restoring peat bogs<\/a> and reconnecting rivers <\/a>to their natural flood plains to enhance water retention.<\/p>\n An urgent awareness campaign for the whole of society to reduce water usage.<\/p>\n A full environmental and economic assessment of drought to weigh the cost of inaction against the value of resilience.<\/p>\n The rolling out of nature-based solutions more widely in urban and rural settings.<\/p>\n