Chief Executive of the Environment Agency Sir James Bevan is warning that the water crisis a ticking time bomb - with issues including water quality, population growth, water shortages and climate change.

Sir James was the key note speaker yesterday at the three day World Water Tech Innovation Summit currently taking place in London.

In a wide-ranging speech he described the ongoing challenges the UK is facing from what he described as the weatherbomb.

He told delegates that the country is “again is struggling to get back on its feet” after being hit by another weatherbomb in the shape of Storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin - the first time the country has had three named storms within a week since the Agency’s new strategy for managing the greater flood risks which climate change is bringing.

Sir James said:

“Two years ago I said that all of us need to think differently if we are to tackle successfully the new reality of the climate emergency. Today I want to make the same appeal to think differently in order to defuse another ticking time bomb: the water crisis.”

Welcoming growing public interest in recent months in the state of our waters, he cautioned that “what is less good in this lively public debate is that not everything being said is accurate.”

Common myths about water – setting the record straight

Sir James used his speech to “set the record straight” on three common myths about water:

Myth number 1: “all our waters are in a terrible state.”

According to the EA Chief, while the state of our rivers is flatlining, with only 14% of them currently meeting the criteria for good ecological status, there are now far fewer serious pollution incidents damaging our waters than three decades ago. “While continuing to demand better, we should recognise the major progress that has been made,” he said.

Myth number 2: “the state of our rivers is the Environment Agency’s fault.”

Sir James delivered a robust defence of the Environment Agency’s work and strong track record, pointing out that the ability to protect our waters depends on the Agency “having the powers and resources to do that, and that hasn’t always been the case.”

He emphasised that most of the criticism should be directed at polluters who needed to “clean up their act”, agreeing with Ofwat that “water company chief executives should have their pay linked to levels of pollution their companies cause.”

He also highlighted the public’s role in contributing to pollution via introducing items like wetwipes and cooking oil into the water environment, together with wasting water through activities like leaving taps to run.

Myth number 3: “the biggest problem we have is water quality”

The EA Chief told his audience it would “take a very long time and a very large amount of money” to meet the public’s greater expectations on water quality. However, the biggest long term threat to the environment, the economy and lifestyle, was water quantity – “simply having enough for people and wildlife.” He went on to point out that the Environment Agency National Framework for Water Resources launched last year would help to avoid “the Jaws of Death” : the point at which without intervention the demand for water would outstrip supply in some 20 years’ time.

Water is “the new gold”

On a broader level, Sir James said that as world population grows we will experience more and more water stress which could have “severe geo-political consequences”. He went on to refer to US Vice President Kamala Harris warning that wars in future would be fought over water not oil. Growing water scarcity also had major economic implications – the reason why Goldman Sachs told investors a few years ago that water is “the petroleum of the new century.”

“I wouldn’t call water the new petroleum myself … I’d call water the new gold” he added.

“Farming is doing as much damage to our waters as sewage”

While water companies have “rightly been condemned for allowing far too many sewage spills into rivers”, he emphasised that they were “not actually the main source of pollution for most of our rivers and streams.”

He highlighted the fact that farming and rural land management impacts a higher proportion of our water bodies (45% ) than any other source - mostly via diffuse pollution chemicals from fertiliser and other substances put onto land which then run off into watercourses.

The EA does “a lot more than you think to protect water”

In addition to the Agency’s regulatory work, citing the record £90m fine the EA secured last year against Southern Water for deliberately polluting a large stretch of coastal waters, Sir James drew attention to its work with the government to develop policy that will enhance water quality.

This included:

• work with the water companies and Ofwat to ensure that the water companies are investing in better infrastructure to improve water quality in future
• work with NGOs and local partners to improve water habitats, remove invasive species, open up rivers for salmon, restock them with fish for anglers, and restore them to their natural state.
• regulating water abstraction to protect chalk streams and aquifers, and manage drought risk

If we want better water quality “it will have to be paid for”

He went on to set out three inconvenient truths – “you get the environment you pay for, climate change may make things worse before they get better and if we want better outcomes, we need to think differently.”

Nothing in life is free, and that includes better water quality, he said. Sir James told delegates that if we want better water quality “it will have to be paid for.” However, at the moment the first people who should be paying to protect and enhance our waters – the polluters themselves – were not doing this.

The water companies, farmers and others whose activities can damage our waters were also not currently paying the costs of repairing the damage that they do cause.

In addition, when the Agency prosecuted serious polluters, the fines that are imposed on them go to the Treasury, not back into restoring the environment.

As a consequence, the EA is increasingly using Enforcement Undertakings in minor cases whereby polluters agree to fund the clean up of damage they have caused in exchange for the EA deciding not to prosecute them.

Water pollution – EA would like to see higher penalties and fines

However, he emphasised that where an operator causes major or deliberate harm, the Agency would normally always prosecute and seek the highest available penalties. The EA would also like to see higher penalties than in the past, because “the biggest polluters are not yet paying enough in fines to really deter them and others from future offences. That is why we welcome the tougher sentencing guidelines now in force and the recent record fine against Southern Water.”

Sir James also called for the water companies to put even more investment into improving the state of our waters, saying that too many parts of our sewage system are “not fit for the 21st century and have not been upgraded since Victorian times.”

He warned that if water companies are to continue their social licence to operate, “they need to be putting more of their profits back into the environment and less in dividends to shareholders.”

He went on to say it was right that consumers should pay a fair price for water and know how much it really costs – the reason the EA supports water metering so people can see how much they are using and what it’s costing.

It was also the reason the EA “work closely with the economic regulator, Ofwat, to ensure that the water bills we all pay do fund the necessary investment by the water companies to deliver the clean and plentiful water we all want.”

Climate change will be biggest determinant of state of our waters over the long term

He went on to warn that over the long term climate change would be the biggest determinant of the state of our waters, rather than the activities of the Environment Agency, the government or the water companies.

Climate change is:

• driving heavier and more violent rainfall:
• rainfall is overwhelming sewage systems more frequently, leading to more discharges into rivers; rainfall is washing more soil and contaminants into rivers, causing greater flood risk and pollution. driving hotter temperatures and lower summer rainfall
• causing higher drought risk, damaging water quality and killing river wildlife.

“Water environment - if we want better outcomes, we need to think differently”

He told his audience that “if we really want to shift the dial then we will also need to think and act differently.”

Sir James welcomed the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee’s recent recommendation that the Environment Agency should explore providing a publicly-available platform for people to enter water quality readings in a way that would allow the results to be verified by other users, regulators or companies. He told the conference that the EA is now looking at whether it could “do something on those lines” , and invited campaigners and NGOs to consider how they could contribute, adding “we are keen to work with you”.

He also flagged up “another leftfield idea” - using energy from mine water for community heating which with the right technology could provide renewable, secure, low carbon heating for buildings in coalfield areas. With 25% of homes in the UK located above former coal mines, the EA is now supporting the Coal Authority to look at using mine water to heat local homes and businesses.

He ended his speech by saying:

“Ultimately we will get the water we are all prepared to pay for. And we cannot have the water we want unless we also tackle the climate emergency and think, and act, differently.”