More than two thirds of England is now in drought, with hosepipe bans widespread across the country and drought orders potentially following if restrictions prove insufficient. Yet according to Alastair Chisholm, water, policy, regulation and governance lead at Arup, the national response still risks treating water scarcity as a temporary weather event rather than a structural reality.

The UK has experienced three flash droughts in the past five years, signalling a departure from the mild, damp climate the country has long been known for. England's population continues to grow, adding further demand to a system already stressed by shifting rainfall patterns. The cultural assumption that Britain will always have sufficient water, Chisholm argues, belongs to a different era.

Infrastructure Alone Cannot Close the Gap

Calls to resolve the UK's water supply challenges through infrastructure alone will fall short, Chisholm warns. While new reservoirs, water transfers and reuse schemes are all essential, projected major infrastructure is expected to meet only around 30 to 40 per cent of future water demand. The proposed new reservoirs will not all be complete until 2045 at the earliest.

England's water industry was privatised in 1989, making it one of the few fully privatised water systems among major developed economies. This structure shapes how investment in supply infrastructure is financed, decided and delivered, with water companies, regulators and government each playing distinct roles.

Building long-term resilience, he argues, requires designing with water — rethinking how homes, communities, towns, businesses and landscapes are planned around water availability.

Water-Smart Homes and Citizens

Creating water-smart citizens and communities must be a priority, Chisholm says. The millions of people currently under hosepipe bans may understandably feel frustrated, but restrictions form a central part of the solution set needed to prevent and mitigate future droughts.

Additional measures should include more efficient taps, showers and white goods that deliver the same utility while consuming less water. Greater adoption of rainwater harvesting and greywater reuse can reduce demand for drinking-quality water by approximately 35 per cent when applied to toilets, washing machines and gardens.

Much of this is easier to incorporate at the design stage of new homes and developments. Chisholm calls on the government to accelerate water efficiency labelling and close the gap between building regulations and broader water regulation, a disconnect that currently makes reuse difficult to implement at scale. Other countries have already moved in this direction — Australia introduced a national water efficiency labelling scheme following its devastating Millennium Drought — giving Britain tested models to draw from.

Sponge Cities and Urban Water Management

Towns and cities also need to improve how they manage the water that does fall. Concrete and tarmac absorb heat and radiate it back into the surrounding environment, exacerbating hot weather conditions. As an alternative, rain gardens, street trees and pocket parks can cool urban areas, allow more water to infiltrate the ground, and reduce pressure from intense rainfall — an approach increasingly described as creating "sponge cities."

This model is gaining recognition as a component of urban water resilience, complementing the tanks, pipes and reservoirs on which the existing water system depends.

Landscape-Level Resilience

The same principles must extend beyond urban areas. Water scarcity extends well beyond public water supply: the natural environment often suffers first, and dry landscapes place mounting pressure on farming and food production.

Over centuries, Britain has drained its landscapes and removed the vegetation, ponds and wetlands that historically helped retain moisture in the ground and allowed it to soak into aquifers. Declines in soil health have further reduced that capacity at the same time as longer dry periods place greater strain on harvest yields.

Rebuilding natural resilience will be essential, Chisholm argues. Precision irrigation can optimise the use of available water, while greater ground cover and regenerative farming practices can improve soil moisture retention. Reforestation and landscape rewetting can help store water further upstream, allowing crops to rely on natural supplies for longer before irrigation becomes necessary.

The government has an important role here as well. Farming schemes can support more resilient approaches, while monitoring and modelling technology can help identify where interventions will deliver the greatest benefit across water supply, food production and the natural environment.

A Broader Understanding of Water Resilience

Taken together, these changes point toward a more comprehensive understanding of water resilience. Water security underpins food production, new housing, industry, nature and the places people value. The UK's independent Climate Change Committee has repeatedly identified water scarcity among the most serious risks the country faces under a changing climate, reinforcing the urgency behind the measures Chisholm outlines. From healthier landscapes and sponge cities to major infrastructure and household water use, designing with water has never been more important, he concludes.

The cultural assumption that Britain will always have enough water belongs to a different climate. This summer, he says, should be the catalyst for designing around the one the country now faces.

Alastair Chisholm is water, policy, regulation and governance lead at Arup.