Flood bill paves way for more frequent water bans

Pressure on businesses to save water looks set to intensify following the publication of draft regulations that promise to improve flood protection and strengthen utilities' power to impose limits on non-essential water use.

Released today for consultation, the draft Flood and Water Management Bill outlines wide-ranging reforms to the UK's water supply designed to clarify which agencies are responsible for flood management, improve water quality, and bolster utilities' powers for reducing water demand during droughts.

Speaking at the opening of the UK's new Flood Forecasting Centre, environment secretary Hilary Benn said that the proposed legislation, combined with the new early warning centre, would help tackle the increased flood risks likely to result from climate change.

"The terrible effects of the 2007 floods are still fresh in our minds, and climate change will only increase the threat of extreme weather in the future," he said. "That's why we are publishing this draft Bill, which will help us better protect the public by clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved in flood risk management."

The bill was published just a day after a new survey from the Local Government Association (LGA) which showed that over half of councils lack the funding to meet their flood risk responsibilities and have no partnerships in place with water companies to help address flood risk.

Councillor Paul Bettison, chairman of the LGA Environment Board, said that the government needed to fast-track the new legislation through Parliament and provide additional funding for flood programmes.

"The problem councils face when they try to reduce flood risk is that in a single street, responsibility for looking after the drains might be shared between many different organisations," he explained. “The government should make it a priority to get new laws in place. Heavy rain can happen at any time and we need to make sure local areas are fully prepared."

A Defra spokesman said that in addition to the new bill the government and the Environment Agency had already undertaken a large number of measures to help address flood risks, including the establishment of the new early warning centre and the provision of over £20m in additional funding to improve flood management.

As well as clarifying flood management responsibilities, the new bill will also streamline the processes water utilities need to go through in order to impose drought measures, making it easier for them to ban non-essential water use. "Areas of the UK are already facing water stress and we need people to think about how we use and conserve water," said the Defra spokesman. "The bill will extend the powers of water companies to ban non-essential water use during droughts."

The bill's requirements for increased efficiency across the water network and improvements in water quality could also strengthen the utilities' hand as they await a ruling from industry regulator OFWAT on proposed five-year investment and pricing plans.

All but one of the major utilities proposed above inflation price hikes for both domestic and business customers, as they seek to fund infrastructure investments designed to mitigate climate change risks, and ensure compliance with tightening water quality regulations.