A new report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), the UK's leading independent progressive think tank, is warning that pressure on water supply could put Northern Powerhouse projects at risk.

Published by IPPR North, the dedicated think tank for the north of England, Water in the Northern Powerhouse has been jointly funded by United Utilities, Yorkshire Water, Hull City Council, Natural England, and the Environment Agency.

The second in a series of IPPR Natural Assets North briefings, the report examines the role that water plays in the Northern Powerhouse economy, the degree to which the region is resilient to the impact of climate change and other trends on the supply of water, and implications for policymakers at a local, pan-Northern and national level.

According to IPPR North, to date strategic discussions about the future of the Northern Powerhouse have failed to engage properly with the potential impact on water systems, and with the increasingly urgent need to manage demand for water in future.

“This will potentially lead to poor decision-making, given that the risk of failure, namely, increased pressure on water supplies would pose a substantial risk to the success of these plans, and would undermine the potential benefit to the Northern economy of water trading schemes,” the report says.

The water supply across the North of England is managed by three water companies - Yorkshire Water, Northumbrian Water and United Utilities. According to the latest figures from the Environment Agency for 2018, the North accounted for 41% (over 6,500 million cubic metres) of all water abstracted across England.

The report says climate change has already had, and will continue to have, a significant effect on water supply in the North of England - the compound effects of climate change and economic and population growth are introducing significant pressures on the water supply.

Pressures on the supply of water in the North are likely to increase over the coming decades and towards the end of this century, with implications for the future economic development potential in the North.

“Although much of the North – unlike parts of the south of England – is not considered water stressed, the region's water security cannot be taken for granted.”

“In the face of a reduction in overall supply in the north of England, as a result of climate change, we will all need to use water much more carefully in future if the region is to maintain its overall water resilience,” the report says.

The report is flagging up key issues in water supply across the North over the coming years and identifies the following five themes, which “taken together, warrant a collective and pan-Northern approach to ensuring the continued resilience of the North’s water supply and the health of its natural environment” :

1. There is considerable uncertainty in forecasting future water resources

2. The water industry has promised to reduce leakage – but everyone must play a role in managing overall demand for water

3. Public attitudes to water need to change

4. Modelling across a long timeframe suggests additional pressures in yorkshire and, to some extent, the north west

5. There are opportunities for parts of the north to support national water resilience

The report says that the themes “taken together, warrant a collective and pan-Northern approach to ensuring the continued resilience of the North’s water supply and the health of its natural environment.”

"Conversations about the future of the region and its economy have largely taken the North’s water resources for granted”

IPPR North is now calling for a recognition across all strategic stakeholders in the North, including Transport for the North, combined authorities, the metro mayors and other political and business leaders that “the responsibility of ensuring the continued health of the North’s water assets is not simply owned by the water sector (including regulators).”

Instead it is a shared issue which requires shared approaches to management and investment – which extends to the future energy needs of the North, given close synergies between water supply and energy production.

IPPR North also wants to see a strong pan-regional voice for the sector, in order to ‘hold its own’ in discussions with key Northern partners and suggests that this could build upon the embryonic Water Resources North group.

The report says:

“Without a reliable and sustainable supply of clean water, and effective and efficient wastewater systems, activity in the Northern Powerhouse would quickly grind to a halt. To date, conversations about the future of the region and its economy have largely taken the North’s water resources for granted.”

Click here to download the report in full