Abstract
Droughts are a recurring feature of the UK climate. This chapter asks what drought and water scarcity management options are currently applied in England and Wales and contrasts it with options as identified in the literature. The research presented in this chapter will also deviate from the standard differentiation of supply versus demand options and present a new classification focusing on different stakeholder groups or overarching water governance issues. This new typology helps identifying weaknesses in current drought and water scarcity management. The literature review shows a tendency towards proactive measures that focus on cross-sectoral collaboration, abstractor groups and valuing water. In contrast, the results for England and Wales, based on an analysis of water companies’ Water Resources Management Plans, show that only a limited number of the available options are applied and that the currently applied options focus on restricting water use in times of drought but focus less on preventing droughts in a larger context of water governance. Thus, to tackle future challenges such as climate change and population growth, water companies and regulators should embrace the introduction of more proactive drought management options.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Affinity Water. (2014). Our Plan for Customers & Communities. Final Water Resources Management Plan, 2015–2020. Retrieved July 18, 2017, from https://stakeholder.affinitywater.co.uk/docs/FINAL-WRMP-Jun-2014.pdf.
Albion Water. (2016). Draft Water Resource Management Plan. Retrieved July 18, 2017 from: https://www.albionwater.co.uk/who-we-are/documents-links/useful-documents
Anglian Water. (2014). Water Resources Management Plan 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2017 from: http://www.anglianwater.co.uk/_assets/media/WRMP_2015.pdf
Australian Government. (2017). Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper. Retrieved July 18, 2017, from http://agwhitepaper.agriculture.gov.au/.
Australian Government. National Water Commission (2011) Water Markets in Australia. A Short History. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.
Bakker, K. J. (2000). Privatizing Water, Producing Scarcity: The Yorkshire Drought of 1995. Economic Geography, 76, 4–27. https://doi.org/10.2307/144538.
Bokal, S., Grobicki, A., Kindler, J., & Thalmeinerova, D. (2014). From National to Regional Plans—The Integrated Drought Management Programme of the Global Water Partnership for Central and Eastern Europe. Weather and Climate Extremes, 3, 37–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wace.2014.03.006.
Bristol Water. (2014). Water Resources Management Plan 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2017 from: https://www.bristolwater.co.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Water-Resource-Management-Plan.pdf
Bryman, A. (2012). Social Research Methods. New York: Oxford University Press.
Cambridge Water. (2014). Water Resources Management Plan 2014. Cambridge Region. Main Report. Retrieved July 18, 2017, from http://www.cambridge-water.co.uk/customers/water-resources-management-plan.
Cholderton and District Water. (2014). Water Resources Management Plan 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2017 from: http://www.sitesplus.co.uk/user_docs/274/File/WRMP-v7%201%202014%20Final_compressed.pdf
Committee on Climate Change Risk Assessment. (2016). UK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2017. Synthesis Report: Priorities for the Next Five Years. London.
Committee on Sustainable Water and Environmental Management in the California Bay-Delta, Water Science and Technology Board, Ocean Studies Board, et al. (2012). Sustainable Water and Environmental Management in the California Bay-Delta. Washington, DC.
Cook, C. (2016). Drought Planning as a Proxy for Water Security in England. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 21, 65–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2016.11.005.
Critchley, R., & Marshallsay, D. (2013). Water Resources in the Southeast. Progress Towards a Shared Water Resources Strategy in the South East of England Phase 2B Report.
Dee Valley Water. (2013). Water Resources Management Plan December 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2017 from: https://www.deevalleywater.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Executive-Summary-V3-0.pdf
Defra and Environment Agency. (2015). How to Write and Publish a Drought Plan. London, Bristol. Retrieved July 18, 2017 from: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/how-to-write-and-publish-a-drought-plan
Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Welsh Assembly Government, Environment Agency. (2011). Drought Permits and Drought Orders. Information from the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Welsh Assembly Government and the Environment Agency.
Department of Water Resources, Department of Food and Agriculture. (2009). California’s Drought. Water Conditions & Strategies to Reduce Impacts. Report to the Governor March 30, 2009. Sacramento.
EC. (2000). Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 Establishing a Framework for Community Action in the Field of Water Policy.
EEC. (1992). Council Directive 92 / 43 / EEC of 21 May 1992 on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora.
Environment Agency. (2015a). Drought Response: Our Framework for England. Bristol.
Environment Agency. (2015b). Water Company Drought Plan Guideline. Bristol.
Environment Agency. (2016). Managing Water Abstraction. Environment Agency, Bristol
Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales. (2013). Water Stressed Areas—Final Classification. Environment Agency: Bristol; Natural Resources Wales: Cardiff.
Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales. (2016, May). Final Water Resources Planning Guideline. Environment Agency, Bristol.
Essex & Suffolk Water. (2014). Final Water Resources Management Plan 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2017, from https://www.eswater.co.uk/_assets/documents/ESW_Final_Published_PR14_WRMP_Report_-_V3_-_08OCT14.pdf.
Falkenmark, M., Berntell, A., Jägerskog, A., Lundqvist, J., Matz, M., & Tropp, H. (2007). On the Verge of a New Water Scarcity—A Call for Good Governance and Human Ingenuity. SIWI Policy Brief. Stockholm: SIWI. Retrieved from https://www.siwi.org/publications/on-the-verge-of-a-new-water-scarcity/.
Farmer, A. M. (Ed.). (2012). Chapter 5.12 Water Scarcity and Droughts. In Manual of European Environmental Policy. London: Routledge.
Folke, C., Hahn, T., Olsson, P., & Norberg, J. (2005). Adaptive Governance of Social-Ecological Systems. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 30, 441–473.
Garrote, L., Iglesias, A., Moneo, M., et al. (2007). Application of the Drought Management Guidelines in Spain [Part 2. Examples of Application]. In A. Iglesias, A. López-Francos, & M. Moneo (Eds.), Drought Management Guidelines Technical Annex (pp. 373–406). Zaragoza: CIHEAM / EC MEDA Water.
Gleick, P. H., & Heberger, M. (2012). The Coming Mega Drought. Scientific American, 306, 14–14.
Gleick, P. H., Christian-Smith, J., & Cooley, H. (2011). Water-Use Efficiency and Productivity: Rethinking the Basin Approach. Water International, 36, 784–798. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2011.631873.
Gómez Gómez, C. M., & Pérez Blanco, C. D. (2012). Do Drought Management Plans Reduce Drought Risk? A Risk Assessment Model for a Mediterranean River Basin. Ecological Economics, 76, 42–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2012.01.008.
Grecksch, K., & Lange, B. (2019). Water Efficiency in the Public Sector. The Role of Social Norms. A Primer. Oxford: Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford.
Green, J. M. H., Cranston, G. R., Sutherland, W. J., et al. (2017). Research Priorities for Managing the Impacts and Dependencies of Business Upon Food, Energy, Water and the Environment. Sustainability Science, 12, 319–331. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-016-0402-4.
Gupta, J., Pahl-Wostl, C., & Zondervan, R. (2013). ‘Glocal’ Water Governance: A Multi-Level Challenge in the Anthropocene. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 5, 573–580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2013.09.003.
Hanak, E., Lund, J., Dinar, A., et al. (2011). Managing California’s Water. From Conflict to Reconciliation. San Francisco: Public Policy Institute of California.
Horne, J. (2016). Water Policy Responses to Drought in the MDB, Australia. Water Policy, 18, 28–51. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2016.012.
Howitt, R., MacEwan, D., Medellin-Azuara, J., et al. (2015). Economic Analysis of the 2015 Drought For California Agriculture. Center for Watershed Sciences, University of California Davis, Davis, CA.
Ingram, B. L., & Malamud-Roam, F. (2013). The West without Water: What Past Floods, Droughts, and Other Climatic Clues Tell Us About Tomorrow. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Kampragou, E., Apostolaki, S., Manoli, E., et al. (2011). Towards the Harmonization of Water-Related Policies for Managing Drought Risks across the EU. Environmental Science & Policy, 14, 815–824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2011.04.001.
Kron, W., Schlüter-Mayr, S., & Steuer, M. (2016). Drought Aspects—Fostering Resilience through Insurance. Water Policy, 18, 9–27. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2016.111.
Lange, B., & Cook, C. (2015). Mapping a Developing Governance Space: Managing Drought in the UK. Current Legal Problems, 68, 1–38. https://doi.org/10.1093/clp/cuv014.
Lloyd-Hughes, B. (2013). The Impracticality of a Universal Drought Definition. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 117, 607–611. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-013-1025-7.
Lorenzo-Lacruz, J., Vicente-Serrano, S. M., López-Moreno, J. I., et al. (2010). The Impact of Droughts and Water Management on Various Hydrological Systems in the Headwaters of the Tagus River (Central Spain). Journal of Hydrology, 386, 13–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2010.01.001.
Marsh, T., Cole, G., & Wilby, R. (2007). Major Droughts in England and Wales, 1800–2006. Weather, 62, 87–93. https://doi.org/10.1002/wea.67.
Mayring, P. (2008). Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse. Grundlagen und Techniken (10th ed.). Beltz: Weinheim.
Met Office. (2012). Dry Weather During 2003. Met Office. Retrieved July 28, 2017, from http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/interesting/2003dryspell.html.
Met Office. (2013). England and Wales Drought 2010 to 2012. Met Office. Retrieved July 28, 2017, from http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/interesting/2012-drought.
Met Office. (2016). Dry Spell 2004/6. Met Office. Retrieved July 28, 2017, from http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/interesting/2004_2005dryspell.
Nelson, R., Howden, M., & Smith, M. S. (2008). Using Adaptive Governance to Rethink the Way Science Supports Australian Drought Policy. Environmental Science & Policy, 11, 588–601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2008.06.005.
Northumbrian Water. (2014). Final Water Resources Management Plan 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2017, from https://www.nwl.co.uk/your-home/environment/water-res-man-plan.aspx.
Peel Water Networks. (2013). Revised Draft Water Resources Management Plan 2013. Manchester: Peel Water Networks Limited.
Pérez-Urdiales, M., & García-Valiñas, M. Á. (2016). Efficient Water-Using Technologies and Habits: A Disaggregated Analysis in the Water Sector. Ecological Economics, 128, 117–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.04.011.
Piure, A. (2014). Markets, Water Shares and Drought: Lessons from Australia. What Can the Water Industry in England and Wales Learn from Australia’s Water Reform Story? Winston Churchill Memorial Trust; Anglian Water.
Portsmouth Water. (2014). Final Water Resources Management Plan 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2017, from https://www.portsmouthwater.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/9A3E1C1C-2773-4BBE-B8E2-A0C365AB18F9.pdf.
PPIC. (2015). Allocating California’s Water. Directions for Reform. Public Policy Institute of California, San Francisco
Priscoli, J. D., & Hiroki, K. (2016). Introduction. Water Policy, 18, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2016.325.
Rijsberman, F. R. (2006). Water Scarcity: Fact or Fiction? Agricultural Water Management, 80, 5–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2005.07.001.
Robins, L., Burt, T. P., Bracken, L. J., et al. (2017). Making Water Policy Work in the United Kingdom: A Case Study of Practical Approaches to Strengthening Complex, Multi-Tiered Systems of Water Governance. Environmental Science & Policy, 71, 41–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2017.01.008.
Rossi, G., & Cancelliere, A. (2013). Managing Drought Risk in Water Supply Systems in Europe: A Review. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 29, 272–289. https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2012.713848.
Sayers, P. B., Yuanyuan, L., Moncrieff, C., et al. (2017). Strategic Drought Risk Management: Eight ‘Golden Rules’ to Guide a Sound Approach. International Journal of River Basin Management, 15, 239–255. https://doi.org/10.1080/15715124.2017.1280812.
Sembcorp Bournemouth Water. (2015). Water Resources Management Plan. Final Water Resources Management Plan-2014 Technical Report. Retrieved July 18, 2017 from: http://www.bournemouthwater.co.uk/company-information/economic-regulation/water-resources-plan.aspx
Severn Trent. (2014). Final Water Resources Management Plan 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2017 from: https://www.severntrent.com/content/dam/stw/ST_Corporate/About_us/Docs/WRMP-2014.pdf
South East Water. (2014). Water Resources Management Plan. Retrieved July 18, 2017, from http://www.southeastwater.co.uk/about-us/our-plans/water-resources-management-plan-2014/wrmp-library.
South Staffs Water. (2014). Water Resources Management Plan 2014. Main Report. Retrieved July 18, 2017 from: https://www.south-staffs-water.co.uk/media/1429/ssw_wrmp_2014.pdf
South West Water. (2014). Water Resources Management Plan. Retrieved July 18, 2017 from: https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/globalassets/documents/water_resources_management_plan_june_20141.pdf
Southern Water. (2014). Water Resources Management Plan 2015–40. Technical Report. Retrieved July 18, 2017, from https://www.southernwater.co.uk/media/default/pdfs/WRMP-technical-report.pdf.
Speight, V. L. (2015). Innovation in the Water Industry: Barriers and Opportunities for US and UK Utilities. WIREs Water, 2, 301–313. https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1082.
SSE Water. (2014a). Water Resources Management Plan (England) 2015–2040. SSE Water. Revised Draft Consultation. Retrieved July 8, 2017 from: https://www.sse.co.uk/help/water/resource-management-plan#item1
SSE Water. (2014b). Water Resources Management Plan (Wales) 2015–2040. SSE Water. Draft Consultation. Retrieved July 18, 2017 from: https://www.sse.co.uk/help/water/resource-management-plan#item1
Stakhiv, E. Z., Werick, W., & Brumbaugh, R. W. (2016). Evolution of Drought Management Policies and Practices in the United States. Water Policy, 18, 122–152. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2016.017.
State of California, Natural Resources Agency, California Department of Water Resources. (2010). California Drought Contingency Plan. Sacramento.
Stone, R. C. (2014). Constructing a Framework for National Drought Policy: The Way Forward—The Way Australia Developed and Implemented the National Drought Policy. Weather and Climate Extremes, 3, 117–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wace.2014.02.001.
Sutton and East Surrey Water. (2014). Final Water Resources Management Plan. Main Report. Retrieved July 18, 2017 from: http://www.waterplc.com/userfiles/file/WRMP_Final_MainReport.pdf
Thames Water. (2014). Final Water Resources Management Plan 2015–2040. Retrieved July 18, 2017 from: https://corporate.thameswater.co.uk/About-us/Our-strategies-and-plans/Water-resources/Our-current-plan-WRMP14
UK Water Act, c. 21. (2014). Retrieved August 4, 2020, from https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/21/contents.
UK Water Industry Act, c. 56. (1991). Retrieved August 4, 2020, from https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/56/contents.
United Utilities. (2015). United Utilities Final Water Resources Management Plan. March 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2017 from: https://www.unitedutilities.com/globalassets/z_corporate-site/about-us-pdfs/water-resources/wrmpmainreport_acc17.pdf
Van Loon, A. F., & Van Lanen, H. A. J. (2013). Making the Distinction between Water Scarcity and Drought Using an Observation-Modeling Framework. Water Resources Research, 49, 1483–1502. https://doi.org/10.1002/wrcr.20147.
van Loon, A. F., Gleeson, T., Clark, J., et al. (2016). Drought in the Anthropocene. Nature Geoscience. Retrieved February 2, 2018, from https://www.nature.com/articles/ngeo2646.
Van Loon, A. F., Stahl, K., Di Baldassarre, G., et al. (2016). Drought in a Human-Modified World: Reframing Drought Definitions, Understanding, and Analysis Approaches. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 20, 3631–3650. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3631-2016.
Veolia Water Projects. (2014). Water Resources Management Plan. Final Published Report. Retrieved July 18, 2017 from: https://www.veolia.co.uk/sites/g/files/dvc636/f/assets/documents/2016/08/5141_WATER_RESOURCES_MANAGEMENT_PLAN.pdf
Vose, J. M., Clark, J. S., Luce, C. H., & Patel-Weynand, T. (2016). Effects of Drought on Forests and Rangelands in the United States: A Comprehensive Science Synthesis. Washington, DC: Unites States Department of Agriculture.
Walker, G. (2014). Water Scarcity in England and Wales as a Failure of (Meta)Governance. Water Alternatives, 7, 388–413.
Walker, B., Holling, C. S., Carpenter, S. R., & Kinzig, A. P. (2004). Resilience, Adaptability and Transformability in Social–Ecological Systems. Ecology and Society, 9.
Water UK. (2016). Water Resources Long Term Planning 2015–2065. London.
Welsh Water. (2014). Final Water Resources Management Plan. Technical Report. Retrieved July 18, 2017 from: http://www.dwrcymru.com/en/Environment/Water-Resources/Water-Resource-Management-Plan.aspx
Wessex Water. (2014). Final Water Resources Management Plan. Website Version. Retrieved July 18, 2017, from https://www.wessexwater.co.uk/waterplan/.
Wilhite, D. A. (2002). Combating Drought through Preparedness. Natural Resources Forum, 26, 275–285. https://doi.org/10.1111/1477-8947.00030.
Wilhite, D. A., Svoboda, M. D., & Hayes, M. J. (2007). Understanding the Complex Impacts of Drought: A Key to Enhancing Drought Mitigation and Preparedness. Water Resources Management, 21, 763–774. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-006-9076-5.
Wilhite, D. A., Sivakumar, M. V. K., & Pulwarty, R. (2014). Managing Drought Risk in a Changing Climate: The Role of National Drought Policy. Weather and Climate Extremes, 3, 4–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wace.2014.01.002.
WMO. (2014). Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes (1970–2012). Geneva: World Meteorological Organisation.
World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Global Water Partnership (GWP) (2014). National Drought Management Policy Guidelines: A Template for Action (D.A. Wilhite). WMO, GWP, Geneva, Stockholm.
Yorkshire Water. (2014). Water Resources Management Plan. Retrieved July 18, 2017 from: https://www.yorkshirewater.com/sites/default/files/Water%20Resources%20Management%20Plan%20-%20Introduction%20and%20supply_0.pdf
Zetland, D. (2016). The Struggle for Residential Water Metering in England and Wales. Water Alternatives, 9, 120–138.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix
Appendix
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Grecksch, K. (2021). UK Drought and Water Scarcity Management Options. In: Drought and Water Scarcity in the UK . Global Challenges in Water Governance . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65578-5_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65578-5_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-65577-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-65578-5
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)