Water scarcity is one of the most critical and widespread impacts of climate change. In England, water stress is an immediate crisis, with the gap between public water supply and demand increasing year on year. Alongside necessary changes to supply systems and improving the efficiency of buildings and appliances, additional measures to curb demand are needed to avoid a shortfall of over 4.5 billion litres per day (more than a third of current supply). Dr Claire Hoolohan, Leilai Immel-Parkinson and Professor Alison Browne advocate for a comprehensive strategy for water demand that ensures all policies appropriately recognise the vitality of water. They identify that:

• There are important gaps in understanding how policy areas beyond the water sector intersect and affect water systems, and non-water policies are rarely required to undergo evaluation for their water-related impacts.
• Water-stressed regions have been identified as key areas for housing and industrial development – showing an under-acknowledgement of water scarcity in housing and economic policy.
• New legislation should prioritise cross-departmental collaboration, joined-up policy and improved water literacy among policymakers and practitioners.

A new vision for water?

The new government White Paper ‘A New Vision for Water’ sets out national aims to reform the water sector and the wider water system.

Research from The University of Manchester has identified how policies in different sectors invisibly drive water use. Interacting  areas, such as health, energy, housing, economy and employment all impact water demand and have implications for a water scarce future. Few of these sectors currently embed assessments of water demand within their policies and processes.

Housing, infrastructure and planning – impacts on water demand

A key example of the lack of joined-up decision making around water is current policy developments around housing, infrastructure and planning.

Plans for 1.5 million new homes by 2029 will further increase water demand across domestic, community, and non-residential sectors. These new homes require connection to water supply and sewerage systems that are already under pressure.

New housing developments also require water infrastructure for supporting services including health centres, sports clubs, swimming pools, and green spaces – all creating multiple demand effects.

These housing developments and their impacts on water demand are unevenly distributed, with half of the planned development marked out for the South-East and Oxford–Cambridge Growth Corridor to support industrial development. New developments intensify water demand in these already seriously water-stressed regions.

There are also missed opportunities within housing and planning policy to improve water outcomes. While buildings and appliances are well addressed by Building Regulations and forthcoming Mandatory Water Efficiency Labelling, few other housing and planning policies address how water demand is designed into ordinary rooms, homes, and neighbourhoods, or create opportunities for more ambitious integrated water management options (including localised water reuse).

The interplay between water demand (including for sanitation), buildings and infrastructure are under-acknowledged in existing housing policy and planning legislation. A period of intensive housing construction presents a window of opportunity for government to deploy joined up thinking on water demand to enable sustainable patterns of water use and ensure that housing policy remains resilient to water scarcity.

Invisible water demands in different policy sectors

There is increasing collaboration between housing and water sectors to ensure water scarcity does not compromise development. However, these challenges resonate throughout other policy domains. Findings show water demand largely unrecognised in government policies, including:

Health: Increased non-medicinal prescribing and an ageing population can lead to increased demand for water for therapeutic practices. Water is increasingly recognised as having health benefits, and prescribing reflects this, however access to water is compromised through declining water levels, access and water quality standards. NHS care in the community policies move water-intensive care practices from hospitals to homes, redistributing demand and reducing opportunities for economies of scale. Growth in laboratories, biotech facilities, and healthcare, particularly in major research and development corridors, are also under-analysed.

Energy and climate change: While policies such as Clean Power 2030 targets and the Energy Act will drive substantial industrial development requiring water for construction and ongoing operations, new industrial sites create localised demand hotspots in already water-stressed regions. Current climate policies show minimal acknowledgment of water-energy nexus, and limited ambition on reducing emissions associated with residential hot water use (approximately 5-6% of total UK emissions).

Economy, digitisation and employment: A reliable water supply is essential to support growth. Plans to concentrate growth in the Oxford-Cambridge corridor, with a focus on investment in digital technologies and data centres will place additional pressure on demand in a region already experiencing water stress. But flexible working policies and targets to increase employment levels have the potential to change how and when water is used in homes.

Failing to recognise these interdependencies puts policy objectives at risk of water scarcity and reduces capacity for cross-sectoral coordination to resolve challenges facing water systems.

A moment for water demand visibility, action and joining up of policy

The Water White Paper, the Transition Plan that government have committed to publishing, and the expected Water Bill in 2026, bring a window of opportunity to place water demand firmly on intersecting policy agendas and develop cohesive strategies for a sustainable water future.

Ministers and officials should consider Environmental Principles Policy Statements in policymaking, ensuring long-term water demand and scarcity are being fully considered and actioned systematically across different areas.

There is currently a lack of consistency across government departments regarding water demand reduction. As demand is shaped by policies beyond the water sector, our research advocates for a comprehensive cross-government strategy for water demand, provision and use.

A critical gap exists in water literacy among professionals working in non-water sectors. Water literacy training for all sectors (similar to carbon literacy initiatives) along with frameworks and toolkits to implement new learning is recommended. Water literacy training must include social and systemic drivers of demand, as the impacts of societal developments risk outstripping gains made by technical interventions.

New legislation should also prioritise the transparent monitoring of water efficiency and water demand relative to increasing water sensitive design within building standards.  There should be mechanisms for collecting and sharing information on target water consumption versus actual consumption for all new developments.

A Water Bill should also include the requirement for transparent evaluation and monitoring of how infrastructure and developments (whether social, economic, or environmental) place additional demand on water and sewerage supplies, their impact on flooding, water run-off, pollution and related impacts such as public health and emissions.

Underpinning all current and future action should be the need for water demand to be positioned as an issue of collective concern across all policy domains – just as Net Zero considerations are now embedded across sectors. Without integrative planning, wide-ranging policy objectives (including economic growth, housing development, climate mitigation and healthcare) add pressure to already stressed water systems. Water scarcity could impede the achievement of non-water policy objectives.