The head of the Environment Agency has warned that we may not have enough water to meet demand in England by 2050.

Speaking at the organisation’s Waterwise Conference, Sir James Bevan said that all water companies in England are predicting that water usage will rise in the coming years as more households and businesses appear, while the amount of water available to meet those needs will decline.

He explained that climate change means the UK is expected to have hotter and drier summers, which in turn means river levels will fall. By 2050, the amount of water available is predicted to reduce by ten to 15 per cent. In some places, river levels will fall by 50 to 80 per cent during the summer. All of that equates to a higher drought risk.

In addition, the country’s population is projected to rise from the current 67 million to 75 million in 2050, again putting further pressure on our water supplies.

Sir Bevan explained that there are a number of solutions to reduce the risks, including building new reservoirs, constructing desalination plants, reducing leakage and encouraging water transfers between regions.

He also stressed that the public need to reduce their water usage. The average person in the UK currently uses 140 litres of water a day. According to Waterwise, it should be possible to reduce this to 100 litres or less within the next decade.

The Huffington Post offered some suggestions of how households can cut their water consumption, including not over-running your tap and harvesting rainwater for use in your garden.

If you’re looking for water softeners in Maidenhead, why not also look at how you could cut your water use by installing more efficient appliances?