EnvironmentEnded 12 Sept
With hotter summers, should water companies be made to build more reservoirs?
Yes 91%No 9%798 votes cast
England faces a projected shortfall of 5 billion litres of water per day by 2055 due to hotter, drier summers, population growth and rising demand. Reservoir levels fell sharply in summer 2026 with many below average and seven exceptionally low, triggering drought declarations across 71% of England and temporary use bans. Water companies are building Havant Thicket, the first new reservoir in over 30 years, plus planning nine more by 2050 to add around 700 million litres daily, but projects face long delays.
27 Opinions
No. Too many people and a company that put sewage in the river. They did not fix the pipes. They banned the hose for water we had already paid for. A new reservoir in those hands is not competence. Mend the network and punish the leak. Do not pour another lake and call the job done.
Isn’t this completely redundant if new reservoirs ARE being built, and the consensus here is that water infrastructure should be re-nationalised. Thanks to Brexit it can be.
I voted yes but really I want water companies who are responsible for supplying water to ensure they supply water and don’t hide behind weather as an excuse for their inability to do so. Build more reservoirs if that helps. But I’m equally happy with an alternative answer that enables taps to turn on in the summer.
But they should be made to fix leaks
The last reservoir built in the UK was approved in the 70s!! But not sure who, per the question, is “to be making” the water companies build more - they currently DO want to, but it’s govt (local+national) stopping them!
The ‘hotter summers’ preface is irrelevant. Problem is fixing leaks & addressing the ‘mulligans’ given to water companies to dump raw sewage in river system. Labour sold Golden Shares so many of the issues can as usual be laid at their door. Privatization was botched but State ownership involved v little investment There of course should be returns for companies if they invest. Issue is financial engineering & should not be permitted for utilities. We do need reservoirs.
Yes, but even that would be insufficient. The whole water industry needs to be reorganised with all option considered including public ownership
It's utterly ridiculous that a so-called first world country has to implement hosepipe bans due to woeful mismanagement of the country's resources.
yes but!!!! govt should have a golden share... and stop the obscene payouts and then all the costs being pushed to consumers. Water is a basic human right...not a cash cow for the greedy.
I think more reservoirs should be built, but not by government mandate.