Biscuitman

http://publications.environment-agen...07BLUT-e-e.pdf

"In many parts of England there is less water per person than in most Mediterranean countries, and parts of the South East have less water per person than the Sudan or Syria.

In some parts of England, the density of the population, combined with a significant or growing demand for water, places real stress on the environment. Where population and demand for water are forecast to increase, the pressures on our finite water resources will multiply.

If we are to meet the needs of society and the economy without over-exploiting our environment, we must understand how to target water efficiency activities to achieve a sustainable balance between water supply, demand and the environment."

The areas of serious water stress are shown in red on the map of England on page 9 of the document, and the companies serving those areas are: Essex & Suffolk; Folkestone & Dover; Southern; Thames; Three Valleys; Mid Kent; Portsmouth; Sutton & East Surrey; Bournemouth and West Hampshire; Cambridge; South East.

Annex 1:

Property numbers: growth in numbers of households, occupancy rates and population growth will all have an impact on future demand for water. We could use growth in households in this approach to calculate demand, but we would need to combine it with occupancy rates. We have chosen to use population growth because the number of people reflects the likely changes in demand for household water.

Population data: we have considered whether recent population forecasts from other sources could be calculated at a water company level rather than those based on water company plans.

We believe the population forecast data used in this approach, based on 2003 data, underestimates population growth and so potentially also underestimates future demand. We are currently assessing the impacts of the latest property and population forecasts released from CLG, but this review will not be available until later this year.

We have decided to use the 2003 data and reassess any underestimates in future.

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IF THE EU WAS THE ANSWER, IT MUST HAVE BEEN A STUPID QUESTION!