Increased temperatures, due to climate change, will exacerbate water stress in the coming years. Water shortages in some areas of the UK are a serious risk, with some parts of the country facing significant drought, while neighbouring areas have surplus water.
It is predicted that droughts will become more frequent, more severe and more widespread over the coming years leading to higher levels of water stress across the UK.
What is a water transfer?
Water transfers involve moving water, typically via canals, reservoirs and pumps, and is often for drinking water supply, irrigation, or environmental management. If transferred for drinking, recycled water is treated before being moved, and upon arrival in a new location, the water is further treated to drinking water quality.
A ready-made network
The water our inland network relies on for maintaining navigation comes from a complex arrangement of reservoirs, groundwater sources, streams and rivers, carefully controlled and managed via telemetry and pumps. The 250-year-old network is an existing and available asset, minimising the need to construct new pipelines which could cost billions, and lessening the impact on the environment by reducing new abstractions from sources which may be in sensitive areas such as chalk aquifers.
Income from commercial arrangements with water companies forms an important contribution to individual transfer projects. But the use of the canal network for water transfer depends on our infrastructure being in safe and operable condition. Our work to maintain, repair and upgrade the network requires continued and significant investment, which is where our partnership with, and support from government is essential.
Projects
Here are a few of our ongoing and future water transfer projects:
- We provide drinking water in Cheshire, care of the Llangollen Canal.
- We provide nearly half of all the drinking water in Bristol, via the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal.
- We provide up to 25% London's domestic water support from the River Lea Navigation.
- With Wessex Water, we transfer water from the River Tone along the Bridgwater & Taunton Canal.
- With Severn Trent Water we are transferring water from Rudyard Reservoir to enable Tittesworth Reservoir to boost onwards supply.
- Anglian Water plan to abstract water from the River Trent via our Fossdyke and Witham Navigations to feed a new reservoir in South Lincolnshire.
