‘We cannot magic up more water’: the supply problems putting housing targets in England at risk

📰 source: theguardian_business · 💼 business

half of england was declared in serious drought this week for the second consecutive year, and that water scarcity is now colliding with the government's plan to build 1.5m homes. in hampshire, kent, hertfordshire, essex and cambridgeshire, water companies say there is simply not enough supply for new housing. basingstoke's annual target jumped from 830 to 1,150 homes, and east hampshire's rose 98% to 1,142. south east water was banned from taking more water from the greywell chalk aquifer and is appealing, while a promised pipeline from the surrey hills has not been built. in cambridgeshire, 150,000 homes are slated for greater cambridge, but a water credit scheme meant to offset demand is not operational.

paul harvey, leader of basingstoke and deane council, put it bluntly: "we cannot magic up more water." environmental damage is already severe — fenlands near collapse, chalkstreams artificially filled. critics say decades of underinvestment in water infrastructure, with profits going to shareholders, have left the system unable to support growth. the government insists its water delivery taskforce will keep building on track.

why it matters: water scarcity is now a hard constraint on uk housing targets, forcing developers and councils to rethink growth plans.

source: theguardian_business
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