Climate change adaptation in the U.K. water industry: Managers' perceptions of past variability and future scenarios

Abstract

In this article, the relationship between U.K. water companies' perceptions of past climatic extremes and their effect on resilience to future climatic change is explored. Perceptions and activities related to past and future dry periods was investigated through interviews with managers at the ten major English and Welsh water supply/sewerage companies, and several smaller, water-only companies. Several of the companies report that they have observed a trend towards drier summers in their regions, and a number of companies say that they have observed a change towards more intensive rainfall of shorter duration. Recent supply measures in a number of regions have been aimed at improving storage and distribution related to the perceived change in rainfall intensity. A new requirement to incorporate regional climate change scenarios in future supply assumptions appears to have had little impact on planning in the region to date. Many water resource planners believe that the scenarios generated are too aggregated and do not encourage a precautionary approach to planning. Some managers believe that records of historical drought conditions, such as experienced in 1933/1934 or 1995/1996, as worst-case scenarios provide a better basis for planning.