The Institution of Civil Engineers has said that increasing water bills will not solve UK water issues and is calling on the UK Government – including the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Ireland Assemblies - to create a UK Water Security Task Force.

The influential professional organisation was commenting on the Ofwat announcement that the average household water and sewerage bill in England and Wales is to rise by 3.5% over the next year.

Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Water expert, Michael Norton, said:

“Securing investment in water infrastructure is important, however, simply increasing water bills will do little to deliver the infrastructure we need in the future. The issues facing the UK’s water management go way beyond domestic supply of water. We are a populous nation facing increasing demands on the amount of water we can provide to all users, including industry, agriculture, households and the environment. We need action to bring about a shift in attitudes to reduce usage and increase the value we place on water.

“Other measures, such as the removal of the regulatory barriers that discourage collaborative investment in new multi-use water infrastructure, will also help to facilitate more effective water management. But we need a proper strategy – one that is integrated, involves all the key players and ultimately achieves long term water security. To set this in motion, UK governments should create a UK Water Security Task Force.”

ICE, which was established in 1818 and whose expertise includes water supply and treatment and flood management, has over 60,000 members in the UK alone.

The Institution first called for a Task Force to be set with the publication last year of its State of the Nation: Water 2012 report highlighting the issues facing the UK water industry and making recommendations for solving these issues in the short and medium terms.

ICE says a UK Water Security Task Force would provide leadership on the UK’s long-term water needs by addressing three key issues:

• Establishing how much water we currently have and how existing resources can be better used and shared
• Incentivise behaviour change to reduce water demand and consumption
• Developing new resources in a sustainable and cost effective way

ICE warned in the Report that if plans are not urgently put in place for the UK’s long-term water security, then the economic, social and environmental consequences will worsen and the pressures from climate change and population growth will make the equitable distribution of water to all users far more difficult to achieve.