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Water Management: S&T Report

My Lords, once more, as in the case of our recent inquiry into energy efficiency, members of the Science and Technology Select Committee found themselves considering an issue that was as much a matter of public knowledge and understanding as it was of science and technology. The Government need urgently to show stronger leadership in informing the people about the critical issues of water management. As many people have said, there is no fundamental shortage of waterin this country but there are problems of storage, distribution and inefficiency of use. The understanding of the public is poor by international and European standards. This ignorance leads to waste and to the inability of people to participate effectively in the debate about which of the alternative solutions to adopt. Indeed, it seems that it is almost the Government’s policy to minimise consumer participation. As we have all said, the sub-committee was fortunate in its chairman, the noble Earl, Lord Selborne, whose extensive knowledge of the subject, so apparent in his excellent opening speech, and his outstanding skills as a chairman, enabled us to get to the roots of the problem and to come up with constructive recommendations. I also compliment our specialist adviser, Professor Richard Ashley, whose international expertise was especially valuable, and our Clerk, Tom Wilson, with the assistance of Michael Collon and our specialist assistant,Dr Jonathan Radcliffe, on their efficient organisation of the meetings and visits and their clear and accurate drafting of the report. I also compliment all noble Lords who have spoken, and especially the noble Lord, Lord Crisp, for his eloquent maiden speech. I shall concentrate on the related issues of public understanding, metering and billing, all of which have been mentioned already several times but which I nevertheless feel will bear repetition. The majority of consumers believe that our supply shortages can be rectified simply by having the water companies mend the leaks in the distribution system but, as the noble Earl, Lord Selborne, and others have said, the problems are much more complex than this suggests. However, I support strongly the cry of the noble Lord, Lord Mitchell, for improved management in some of our water companies and the introduction of increased competition. I also disagree with the water companies’ claim that the reduction of leakage below what has been called the ““economic level”” of leakage would lead only to an unacceptable increase in cost and that it is better to increase supply. We think that that is simplistic and does not adequately take into account environmental issues. As our chairman has already said, we recommend that Ofwat replace the concept of an economical level of leakage with a broader concept of a sustainable level of leakage. As we have said, that would take into account but place more emphasis on the environmental and social consequences than on cost and providing additional supply. It would lead to lower levels of leakage and go a long way to persuading the public that the water companies are behaving responsible. In turn, more people would be inclined to support the companies’ request to provide additional supply through building new reservoirs or desalination plants. This is a critical matter of long-range planning on which we feel there is insufficient attention. There is also the issue of the contribution that people can make themselves to conserving water. As with electricity, a large number of people have little idea of how much water they use or of the relative importance of the different ways in which they use it. Much of that ignorance is a consequence of inadequate, or a complete absence of, metering. Our systems of monitoring water usage and billing are primitive—years out of date by the standards of best practice in the western world. As we have said in the report and mentioned today, we saw much more intelligent and advanced methods being practised in Australia, quite coincidentally in Melbourne, where I happen to have spent most of my youth. Residents of Melbourne receive a water bill that outlines in detail their present and past usage of water, and how much it is costing them. If they do not pay their bill, the suppliers have the right to limit their supply—not disconnect them—by placing a constriction in their supply pipe. It is interesting to reflect that in those days long ago when I grew up in Melbourne, there was little concern about water supply. But Australians have realised that their modern way of life, their prosperity and climate change together place demands upon the water supply that are many times more severe than they were in the first half of the 20th century. Things have changed dramatically, and it is well past the time when we should have realised that our case is similar and modified our behaviour. We are in the bizarre situation where people will pay as much for a litre of bottled water as they will for a litre of petrol, and yet a significant minority of the same people refuse to pay their water bills when the water, in most cases, is of the same quality and purity as that of the bottled variety, and yet costs one-thousandth as much. Never has public ignorance been more expensive to the public. The Government should ensure that systems are put in place that better inform people of the genuinely high quality of tap water and, more importantly, of their responsibilities to use this precious substance sparingly. Meters should be provided for everyone, not the diminutive 28 per cent who have them at present, and the meters should be both accessible and prominent. Consumers should be provided with bills that show their usage and how it relates to the consumption of others, and to their previous usage. Of all the countries in the world, Britain should not be precipitating itself into a water crisis. The problems can all be solved by modifying our behaviour, and, in a few cases, carefully planned increases in supply. But we have to act now and be proactive and creative, as the noble Lord, Lord Oxburgh, has just said. It was extremely disappointing that the Government’s response to our report was largely a defensive reiteration of the status quo.