Chair of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Water Panel Michael Norton said:
"The hosepipe ban is a necessary move to mitigate current water shortages but moving forward we need to shift the debate from short-term measures and blame allocation to long-term strategic thinking about how we can better manage this precious resource. Introducing demand management measures, improving interconnectivity between water companies and better and more imaginative methods of storing winter water would be a good start to safe-guarding our water in the future"
He has previously said on the drought and related issues:
“A national water grid is not only impractical both economically and environmentally but also in reality is a major undertaking - it couldn’t be done anytime in the near future, and between now and then the problem would only worsen. You can’t compare it to the national electricity grid; water is a heavy incompressible liquid which requires huge quantities of carbon-based energy to move it. Regional transfers using already established waterways or interconnections across water company water systems have more merit and may have a role to play in future.
“However if we really want to avoid the spectre of drought becoming an annual event we need to take a more strategic overview of water management, focusing on preventative measures for addressing scarcity before it gets to drought stage.”
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Media contacts
For further information:
Emily Beadon, ICE Media Manager, 0207 665 2261 emily.beadon@ice.org.uk
Notes to editors
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is a leading source of professional expertise in transport, water supply and treatment, flood management, waste and energy. Established in 1818, it has over 80,000 members throughout the world including over 60,000 in the UK. ICE’s vision is to place civil engineering the heart of society, delivering sustainable development through knowledge, skills and professional expertise. The ICE has long worked with the government of the day to help it to achieve its objectives, and has worked with industry to ensure that construction and civil engineering remain major contributors to the UK economy.