Anglian Water has launched a new consultation on its latest report on adapting to climate change – its next Adaptation Report will be submitted to Government before the 31st December 2021 deadline.
The draft report follows on from the water company’s previous Adaptation Reports published in 2011 and 2015 and describes how the utility is embedding adaptation across its business.
The report will contribute to government understanding of the firm’s level of preparedness to climate change.
The Anglian Water region – low lying, with a long coastline and low rainfall – is particularly susceptible to climate change. Water resources are already scarce, and rising temperatures will reduce them further, with the threat of more frequent droughts. At the same time however, rising sea levels and more intense rainfall will also lead to more flooding.
The challenges would be significant even with a static population – and the region is one of the fastest growing outside London, with 200,000 new homes expected to be built by 2025 (without factoring in the proposed Oxford-Cambridge Arc) and population growth of up to a million people likely by 2040.
With growth most likely in the areas where supply is most stretched, the risk of flooding is greatest, and the environment most under pressure, the need to adapt to new climate realities is acute.
Deadline to submit responses and comment on trhe report is 29th May 2020 – click here to download the draft Report