US EditionGovernment fast-tracks two new reservoirs to shore up water supply
- In 2025, the UK government announced it will accelerate the approval process for two major water storage projects located in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire to enhance the nation's water supply.
- This decision responds to prolonged water shortages, population growth, and a lack of major reservoirs built in over 30 years, with risks of supply shortages by the next decade.
- The two reservoirs, proposed by Anglian Water, aim to provide water for 750,000 homes and are expected to be completed by 2036 and 2040, starting a broader plan of nine reservoirs by 2050.
- Water Minister Emma Hardy warned that, as no new reservoirs have been constructed in the past 30 years, failing to take action now could lead to a shortage of potable water by the mid-2030s.
- The fast-track process aims to reduce red tape and unlock housing development but faces criticism over impacts on local communities and calls for better water conservation strategies.
43 Articles
43 Articles
England’s water crisis needs more than just new reservoirs – here’s what will help
The UK government wants to build more reservoirs like this one (Ladybower reservoir) in the Peak District Jon_Clark/ShutterstockEngland is facing a water crisis. The UK government has just announced plans to fast-track two massive reservoir projects in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, warning that without them, we could run out of drinking water by the mid-2030s. But as a hydrologist who studies Britain’s often erratic weather patterns, I believ…
Oxford Mail
heraldseries.co.ukFears of 'water rationing' without controversial reservoir, government claims
Campaigners against the Abingdon mega-reservoir project have dismissed government claims that the UK will face a 'water shortage' without them in Oxfordshire.
Reservoir plans fast-tracked as Britain could run out of drinking water 'in next decade' - The Mirror
The Environment Agency has predicted a shortfall of almost five billion litres a day by 2050 as drier summers caused by the climate crisis has put the country at risk
Here's where two new reservoirs could be built in the UK
Water consumption has been rising for years (Picture: Phil Taylor/SWNS) Two new reservoirs will be built in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire by 2036 and 2040, the first to be built in England for more than 30 years. To do this, ministers are ‘slashing red tape’ by making the call to open reservoirs up to the government, rather than local councils. Water companies will also open reservoirs in Oxfordshire, Somerset, Suffolk, Kent and East Sussex by…
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