Are we running out of water?
It’s hard to believe, especially after an especially soggy British new year, but the UK is running out of water. And with a data centre boom and a housebuilding push on the horizon, the question isn’t just if we’ll have enough water – it’s when we’ll run out.
The UK hasn’t built a single major reservoir since 1992. That’s before SMS texting, the debut of Friends, and even predates the European Union. In that time, the population has grown by over 10 million, meaning more homes, businesses, and industry, all demanding water. Yet the number of reservoirs? Unchanged.
The government is now scrambling to catch up, backing plans for nine new reservoirs, with £7.9bn in investment ‘unlocked’ by the Chancellor in January. But reservoirs aren’t a quick fix. The real question is whether they’ll be ready in time, or whether we’re sleepwalking into a crisis.
Why We Need More Water
Demand for water isn’t just rising, it’s accelerating, and the government’s economic ambitions, noble as they may be, are only adding to the pressure. No one would criticise an attempt to inject some much-needed momentum into a sluggish economy, but let’s be clear: one-and-a-half million new homes in the next five years, plus £45bn worth of data centres, means a surge in water use that the country is simply not ready for.
The numbers speak for themselves. According to the Environment Agency, by 2050 England faces a projected shortfall of nearly 5 billion litres per day – a volume of water six times the capacity of Lake Windermere every single year.
It’s not just a future problem. Water scarcity is already holding back development in Sussex, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, and Norfolk. Housing and business projects are being delayed or scrapped because there simply isn’t enough water.
Each new home will add an extra 150 litres per day to demand. A single data centre can use upwards of 10 million litres per day. The maths doesn’t add up.
The Government’s Race to Build Reservoirs
Last month, the government made its move: nine new reservoirs spread across Somerset, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Kent, Lincolnshire, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, and the West Midlands. Add to that the Havant Thicket reservoir, which has been in the works since 2021 and won’t supply water until 2029.
The big problem? Reservoirs take a very long time to build. Even if the government fast-tracks planning reforms, construction alone can take a decade or more. It’s the same old story: by the time the infrastructure is ready, demand has already surged past it.
And yet, housebuilding and data centre expansion are happening right now. So, what happens when the water simply isn’t there?
The Risk of Falling Behind
The consequences of getting this wrong go far beyond a hosepipe ban.
- For the economy: Research suggests that water shortages could stall the construction of more than 60,000 homes in the South and South East, wiping £25bn off the economy in the next five years.
- For the tech sector: Thames Water has already warned data centres that their water supply could be restricted during heatwaves. And that’s before the £40bn wave of data centre investment we’ve seen in recent months.
- For politics: Labour has committed to hitting ambitious housebuilding targets and delivering economic growth. If a lack of water infrastructure derails either goal, the government could find itself in serious trouble before the next election.
And at a personal level? A government blindly chasing economic targets without securing the resources to support them is a threat to public health. When taps start running dry, it won’t take long for the public to figure out who is to blame.
Solutions & The Way Forward
There’s some good news. Housing and data centres are becoming more water-efficient. New-build homes now use a third less water than older properties. Tech giants like Microsoft are rolling out closed-loop cooling systems in their data centres, drastically reducing water consumption.
But that alone won’t be enough. The UK needs a serious plan for achieving water security through water efficiency:
- Stronger water efficiency rules for new homes.
- Retrofitting older housing stock to cut unnecessary waste.
- Widespread adoption of greywater recycling and recirculating showers.
- Urgent action on water leaks, which still waste a staggering 900 million litres per day.
- Educating the public on the genuine threat of water scarcity and the simple measures we can take to reduce our consumption and waste.
And most importantly, the government must ensure reservoir projects aren’t delayed. Because if they are, the consequences will be real and painful.
The UK has bold plans for economic growth. But without water, those plans will evaporate.
The race for reservoirs isn’t just about infrastructure, it’s about whether the country can sustain its own ambitions.
