Water supply and sanitation in England

Water supply and sanitation in England is owned by private companies since 1989 with resources managed by the Environment Agency.

Responsibility

Within the government the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has the responsibility for policy in the water and sanitation sector in England only.[1] The Environment Agency is responsible for water quality and resource in England.[2] The economic regulator of water companies in England and Wales is the Water Services Regulation Authority, OFWAT and The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) provides independent reassurance to consumers that supplies are safe and of drinking water quality.[3][4]

Reports

The Environment agency also makes "Water situation reports for England" which include monthly water situation reports and weekly rainfall and river flow reports.[5]

Demand

The Committee on Climate Change has predicted that demand for water in England will be greater than the available supply by between 1.1 and 3.1 billion litres per day by the 2050s.[6]

Leakage

3 billion litres (20% of total supply) is lost daily via pipe leakages and the Department has been criticised for not emphasising water reduction targets and promoting to the public the importance of reducing water use.[6] England’s largest water and sewerage service provider is Thames Water. Thames Water supplies drinking water to 9 million customers in London and the Thames Valley, and loses 600m litres of water per day.[7]

Infrastructure

No substantial reservoir has been built in England since the Kielder Water dam was built in 1981, despite the increase in demand.[7]

Private water companies
See also: Water privatisation in England and Wales

Water was privatised in England by the Conservative government in 1989. Since then, one analysis concluded that the CEOs of England’s water companies earned a total of £34m over the past two years 9source published in 2022.[7]

Legislation

Private Water Supplies (England) Regulations 2016 legislates on all private water supplies and private distribution systems in England.

The act aims to protect public health in England by:

  • outlining the drinking water standards
  • legislating a duty for compliance with the standards
  • categorising and outlining the requirements of private water supplies[8]

List of the largest reservoirs in England by volume

The following is a list of the largest reservoirs in England by volume.[9]

Name Owner Location Year Built Nominal volume m³ Surface area m² Ref.
Kielder Water Northumbrian Water Northumberland 1981 199,000,000 10,860,000 [9]
Rutland Water Anglian Water Rutland 1976 124,000,000 12,600,000 [9]
Haweswater United Utilities Cumbria 1935 84,840,000 3,900,000 [9]
Grafham Water Anglian Water Cambridgeshire 1965 57,800,000 6,280,000 [9]
Cow Green Reservoir Northumbrian Water Teesdale 1971 40,914,000 3,120,000 [9]
Thirlmere United Utilities Cumbria 1894 40,714,999 3,290,000 [9]
Derwent Reservoir Northumbrian Water County Durham 1965 40,060,000 4,050,000 [9]
Roadford Lake South West Water Devon 1989 36,910,000 2,987,000 [9]
Carsington Water Severn Trent Water Derbyshire 1992 36,331,000[10] 3,000,000
Queen Mother Reservoir Thames Water Greater London 1976 31,492,000 1,922,000 [9]
Bewl Water Southern Water East Sussex 1975 31,000,000 3,120,000 [9]
Queen Mary Reservoir Thames Water Greater London 1931 30,363,000 2,863,000 [9]
Colliford Lake South West Water Cornwall 1983 29,100,000 3,660,000 [9]
Ladybower Reservoir Severn Trent Water Derbyshire 1943 27,800,000 2,100,000 [9]
Hanningfield Reservoir Essex and Suffolk Water Essex 1957 27,721,000 3,536,000 [9]
Wraysbury Reservoir Thames Water Greater London 1970 26,910,000 2,023,000 [9]
Abberton Reservoir Essex and Suffolk Water Essex 1939 25,721,000 4,900,000 [9]
Draycote Water Severn Trent Water Warwickshire 1969 22,730,000 2,430,000 [9]
Grimwith Reservoir Yorkshire Water North Yorkshire 1983 22,200,000 1,500,000 [9]
Wimbleball Lake South West Water Somerset 1979 21,541,000 1,620,000 [9]
Chew Valley Lake Bristol Water Somerset 1956 20,457,000 4,856,000 [9]
Balderhead Reservoir Northumbrian Water County Durham 1961 19,618,000 1,170,000 [9]
King George VI Reservoir Thames Water Greater London 1947 18,732,000 1,420,000 [9]
Blithfield Reservoir South Staffordshire Water Staffordshire 1953 18,172,000 3,190,000 [9]
Pitsford Water Anglian Water Northamptonshire 1956 17,545,000 3,030,000 [9]
Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir Thames Water Greater London 1962 16,809,000 1,283,000 [9]
William Girling Reservoir Thames Water Greater London 1951 16,500,000 1,350,000 [9]
Selset Reservoir Northumbrian Water County Durham 1960 15,320,000 1,110,000 [9]
King George V Reservoir Thames Water Greater London 1912 13,970,000 1,720,000 [9]
Foremark Reservoir Severn Trent Water Derbyshire 1977 13,193,486 930,000 [9]
Stocks Reservoir United Utilities Lancashire 1932 12,006,000 1,390,000 [9]
Covenham Reservoir Anglian Water Lincolnshire 1972 10,900,000 882,000 [9]
Catcleugh Reservoir Northumbrian Water Northumberland 1905 10,480,000 987,000 [9]
Scar House Reservoir Yorkshire Water North Yorkshire 1936 10,069,000 700,000 [9]

See also

References
  1. "About us". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  2. "About us". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  3. "The Water Services Regulation Authority". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  4. "Drinking Water Inspectorate". Drinking Water Inspectorate. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  5. "Water situation reports for England". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
  6. "Water supply and demand management".
  7. editorial, Observer (2022-08-14). "The Observer view on the woeful state of England's water industry". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
  8. "Private water supplies, legal rights and responsibilities". www.southlakeland.gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
  9. Durant, M.J.; Counsell, C.J. (2018), Inventory of reservoirs amounting to 90% of total UK storage, NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre, doi:10.5285/f5a7d56c-cea0-4f00-b159-c3788a3b2b38, retrieved 24 March 2023 Data downloadable with registration
  10. "Raw Water Storage Levels 15 August 2022 | Reservoir levels | About Us | Severn Trent Water". www.stwater.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
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