Priorities for water security and resilience in England and Wales

It will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to discuss priorities following severe drought conditions across much of England in 2026, which placed increasing pressure on water supplies, households, agriculture, businesses and the natural environment. Delegates will examine implications of the Climate Change Committee’s Fourth Independent Assessment of UK Climate Risk report published in May 2026, ahead of the statutory CCRA due before Parliament in January 2027.

Key issues for the supply-demand framework will be discussed, as outlined in the Environment Agency’s National Framework for Water Resources 2025, against which regional and company plans are now being tested. With the Framework identifying a potential five billion litre shortfall per day for public water supply by 2055 - and further volumes needed for agriculture, industry and power - areas for discussion include ways forward for demand management in supporting sustainable use, approaches to addressing pressures on public and private resource supply, and delivery of new water resources infrastructure.

The agenda will also assess priorities where the needs of households, food production, energy, housing and economic development place competing demands on available resources alongside requirements for the natural environment. Sessions will consider lessons that can be drawn from drought conditions experienced in 2026, assessing the resilience of current supplies, priorities for measures that can be taken in the near-term while major new supply projects remain some years from delivery - such as the White Horse, Fens and Lincolnshire reservoirs.

We expect the discussion to bring out latest thinking on implications for customers, vulnerable users and businesses where supplies come under pressure and priorities for maintaining continuity and resilience. It comes with the HoL Environment and Climate Change Committee calling for action on drought prioritisation, water storage issues at all scales, and abstraction licensing reform in their Surviving drought: reclaim the rain report in May 2026.

Further sessions address implications for continuity of supply-side and demand-side programmes in the context of sector-wide reform, including proposals for the abolition of Ofwat and a single integrated regulator for England, alongside emerging government policy on stronger public control of essential services, changes to water planning arrangements and a strengthened regional planning function. Discussion will also consider the separate direction of reform in Wales, including proposals for a dedicated Welsh economic water regulator and system planner.

Demand management, water efficiency & sustainable use

Priorities for managing demand and improving water efficiency will be examined, including the contribution of building standards and retrofit, smart metering and better use of consumption data. Discussion will also consider approaches to reducing leakage and encouraging more sustainable patterns of water use, alongside the relationship between measures that can reduce demand in the near-term and longer-term investment in new supply.

Areas for discussion include:

• statutory targets: progress towards statutory and interim targets for reducing public water supply use and leakage - priorities for delivery and monitoring
• products & buildings: introduction of the mandatory water efficiency labelling scheme - water efficiency in new build design and retrofit - updating building regulations to support water reuse
• metering, data & tariffs: smart meter rollout and consumption data - incentives for households and businesses - phasing-out rolling block tariffs for non-household customers
• leakage: detection, repair and asset condition - deliverability within current investment allowances - consistency of measurement and reporting
• reuse & recycling: non-potable reuse, rainwater harvesting and sustainable drainage - application to large non-household developments and major water users - barriers to adoption
• affordability & confidence:
• bill increases and customer support - the case for a single social tariff
• consumer engagement and approaches to supporting changes in water use - Mandatory Water Efficiency Label

Water scarcity, drought preparedness, climate resilience & future demand pressures

Delegates will assess the scale of water resource challenges, such as water scarcity, demand pressures, and their implications for public water supplies, agriculture, industry, energy generation and the natural environment. Discussion will also consider how priorities should be set where demands on available resources compete, and what may be needed to maintain continuity and resilience for households, essential services and businesses during periods of water stress.

Areas for discussion include:

• resource pressures: drought prioritisation arrangements - triggers, temporary use bans and drought orders - communication with customers, abstractors and local partners
• vulnerable users:
• continuity and support for households, vulnerable customers and high-dependency users during water stress
• preparedness for businesses and essential services - proposals for a risk register for livestock, poultry and horticulture - continuity for high-dependency businesses
• agriculture & food production: flexibility in abstraction licensing and winter filling - planning and investment routes for on-farm storage
• environmental impacts: low flows, ecological damage and pressures on chalk streams - potential for sustainable abstraction - interaction between drought and flood risk
• supply-demand balance:
• regional variation and areas of serious water stress - competing requirements for public supply, food production, energy, housing and economic growth
• implications of increasing demand from data-intensive and other water-intensive sectors
• regional planning:
• the role of regional water resources groups in identifying future supply needs - implementation of Water Resource Management Plans
• alignment with housing, infrastructure and economic development, alongside environmental requirements

Infrastructure delivery, investment & system resilience

Further sessions will examine priorities for developing secure and sustainable supplies, addressing water quality, treatment capacity, storage, wastewater management and sustainable abstraction, as well as implementation and delivery of Water Resource Management Plans. Discussion will also consider the resilience of infrastructure and supply chains to operational, cyber and wider security risks, alongside the capacity needed to deliver major investment programmes.

Areas for discussion include:

• investment delivery: the AMP8 investment programmes - implications of the CMA's redeterminations for five companies - supply chain, skills, procurement and treatment capacity
• asset health: proposed performance checks and improvement regime - monitoring, maintenance and repair - reducing single points of failure and strengthening operational resilience
• pollution & storms: preventing and mitigating risk from flooding, erosion, contamination and single points of failure - addressing overflows - catchment partnerships - nature-based solutions
• new supply infrastructure: reservoirs, transfers and recycling schemes in the RAPID programme - consenting, cost escalation, construction capacity and delivery timetables
• protecting critical infrastructure:
• cybersecurity and resilience of operational technology - preparedness for malicious disruption
• dependencies on critical suppliers and third-party systems - contingency planning and recovery
• technology & data: monitoring resources, asset condition and water quality - trial and adoption of new technologies - use of data in management and decision-making

Planning reform, regulatory transition & accountability

Delegates will consider priorities for maintaining water resource planning, oversight and delivery through the transition to new regulatory arrangements. Sessions will also discuss what the changing institutional framework may mean for long-term planning, accountability and investment in England, including proposals for a single integrated regulator, changes to planning frameworks and emerging government policy on stronger public control of essential services. The separate direction of reform in Wales and implications for cross-border planning and coordination will also be considerd.

Areas for discussion include:

• new regulatory framework:
• consolidation of water functions from Ofwat, the Environment Agency, the Drinking Water Inspectorate and Natural England
• continuity of planning, enforcement and casework during transition - leadership, staffing and transfer of expertise
• implications for the relationship between economic, environmental and drinking water regulation
• separate proposals for a dedicated Welsh economic regulator and system planner - legislative sequencing - cross-border assets, catchments and dispute resolution
• legislation & sequencing: forthcoming Transition Plan - interim strategic guidance - scope of the Water Reform Bill - timing and interaction with longer-term planning and the next price review
• planning: future structure of water resource planning - development of the strengthened regional planning function - integration with flood risk, housing, infrastructure and land use planning
• abstraction & licensing: licensing regime reform - flexibility for abstractors alongside environmental protection - implications for agriculture, industry and power generation
• public control & ownership:
• emerging government policy on stronger public control of essential services
• implications for governance, investment and accountability - interaction with regulatory reform
• accountability:
• water company performance, oversight and enforcement - transparency, customer engagement and public trust
• delivery against water security, resilience and environmental objectives - alignment with the EIP 2025 and Environment Act 2021 targets