Water management policies have failed, says Lords report

摘要

As UK headlines begin a panic about the government's massive house building plans for the southeast, just remember that you read all about the problem years ago in Platts Global Water Report. For the last couple of years, we have drawn attention to the lack of joined-up thinking when it comes to forward water planning. We pointed to the emphasis Ofwat had put on meeting the demands of the various EU environmental directives rather than tackling leakage since water was first privatized under the Thatcher government in 1989. We watched as the Environment Agency battled to maintain adequate river water levels set against the demands of farmers and households in the dry southeast of Britain. We noted the hostility felt by the public when they read of what they perceived as huge profits enjoyed by the privatized water companies.