Water is vital for life - we all use it in our homes and gardens, farming and industry need it and the wildlife and wetlands depend on it. Yet much of the time we take it for granted. In the Southern Region, water is a scarce and often over-committed resource. Climate change together with forecast economic, population and housing growth present a greater challenge to the southern region than elsewhere in the country.

Climate change is an important issue facing water resources management. The latest climate change scenarios suggest that temperatures will rise across England and Wales. In the southern half of England, summers will be drier and it is predicted that the variability of rainfall will increase from year to year.

Government projections indicate an increase of 3.3 million households in England and Wales between 1996 and 2016, and the total population is set to increase by 2.8 million over the same period.
        
(Source: Environment Agency website)

Water is a semi-renewable resource. In times of low rainfall aquifers and rivers are not recharged. This leads to the drying up of some watercourses with the subsequent impact on wildlife. Excessive water use will also contribute to reducing river levels in times of drought. As this map shows, in Southern England there is little summer surface water available.

Water Resources: current indicative availability: summer surface water.
             
Our water resource needs to be used and managed efficiently in order to meet growing demand. All businesses, regardless of their size or nature of business, need to be aware of water efficiency. This site aims to signpost you to information that will help determine which water efficiency measures apply to you, and what actions you should be undertaking to implement them. You should also consider taking professional advice from your water company or the Environment Agency for issues specific to your site.

For further introductory information to water efficiency and why it's important, click on the link below.
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/waterres/287169/