The House of Commons will hold a debate on on water scarcity tomorrow in Westminster Hall which has been scheduled to begin at 2.30pm.
The Environment Agency has projected both national and regional deficits in water supply in England, with water scarcity to increase in the next 25 years. It estimates that by 2050 there will be a shortfall of nearly 5 billion litres of water per day, which is equivalent to over a third of the current water supply available for public consumption.
The main drivers of water scarcity in England by 2050 are climate change, population growth and housing demand, business growth, protecting the natural environment and increasing drought preparedness. These are coupled with challenges relating to increasing supply, including securing new resources, and decreasing demand through policy measures.
The government published its revised Environmental Improvement Plan in December 2025, which sets out overarching goals relating to the water environment, including measures to reduce demand and increase supply.
Additionally, the government has said that the water sector will be subject to further reform within this Parliament, following the independent Cunliffe review; for more information on reforms, see the library research briefing on Economic regulation of the water industry.
The debate will be opened by Liberal Deomcrat John Milne. the MP for Horsham.
Click here to watch the debate live on Parliament Live TV
ABB has launched AquaMaster+™, a digital platform for smart water network management, designed to help water utilities monitor, analyze and manage their water networks, preventing pipeline water losses and optimizing operations.
Craig Nienaber, Business Development Manager for Safe Access Solutions (SAS) at HUBER Technology, explores why the company is seeing a growing level of interest in its safe access solutions for critical infrastructure providers, including their application in wastewater treatment assets.
Albion Water, the first NAV (New Appointment & Variation) to have been established in1999 and now under the ownership of SDS Water Group, has appointed Andy Holland as its new Director of Business Development.
UK water companies are invited to join an upcoming webinar which will explore how the sector can take indirect potable reuse (IPR) from concept to full-scale operational reality.
Southern Water has released film and images showing what it’s like to walk inside Hampshire’s expanded Yew Hill underground reservoir for the very last time, before it gets filled with water.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.