Storm Babet could just be the beginning of our water woes

The cycle of floods and droughts the UK is experiencing are not going to stop on their own, writes water expert Mark Smith. So here’s what we can do to take water out of the climate crisis…

Britain is experiencing these extremes of both droughts and floods because climate change is increasingly manifesting itself as a water crisis (PA)

Storm Babet has brought widespread flooding to the UK, with tragic loss of life and towns evacuated, while severe flood warnings remain in place. Unfortunately, this is likely to be only the beginning of the winter flooding which has already come to feel like an annual crisis. This is particularly true of the west of England where there is mounting evidence that the climate has altered and is continuing to do so at pace.

However, we are also seeing an increase in drought in the UK. Everything under a line drawn between Bristol and Peterborough now regularly goes through periods of dramatic water shortage. Britain is experiencing these extremes of both droughts and floods because – as is true all over the world – climate change is increasingly manifesting itself as a water crisis. According to the National Infrastructure Commission, by 2050 the UK will need an extra 4 billion litres of water each day. This equates to 25 per cent as much water again as we are using today.

Given that England also has a 25 per cent chance of experiencing a very serious drought before 2050, it makes sense to capture the water at times of plenty – or flooding such as we are currently experiencing – so that we can use it in drier times. There are increasing calls for a national engineering approach which – in addition to building new reservoirs – could find a way to use captured flood water by moving it to the driest areas of the country. Theoretically, this type of infrastructure is feasible, but it would be very expensive.