England will face public water shortages of five billion litres a day by 2055 unless urgent action is taken, officials have warned.
The shortfall – equivalent to a third of the country’s daily use – is being blamed on climate change, population growth and more demand from businesses.
Without urgent action to cut leaks, curb use and build new reservoirs, there is a likelihood of environmental damage, restricted economic growth, interruptions to supplies and a lack of resilience in areas such as energy and food production, the Environment Agency said.
The Environment Agency also warned that the wider economy faces a further deficit of one billion litres a day, with growing demand from the energy sector, food production and businesses such as water-intensive data centres.
The highly populated south east region of England faces the biggest shortfall, with an estimated extra two billion litres of water a day needed between 2030 and 2055.
