JOINED-UP THINKING: WHY THE UK NEEDS A COHESIVE NATIONAL APPROACH TO WATER SECURITY

By Sam Burgess – Water Reuse Manager, SDS

As water scarcity tightens its grip on the UK, a truth we have long overlooked is becoming impossible to ignore: our current approach to water security is fragmented, reactive, and increasingly inadequate. While isolated initiatives are emerging across the industry — from rainwater and greywater reuse schemes to proposals for new reservoirs — they are rarely part of a coherent, national vision. That needs to change.

Disjointed Progress in a Critical Sector

Across the UK, multiple stakeholders are working to address water challenges. We see innovation in water reuse technologies, smarter fixtures, and demand-side strategies. Some local authorities are piloting advanced recycling systems; water companies are exploring long-term resilience plans; building regulations are evolving slowly in some devolved regions.

But the common thread is disconnection. These projects often operate within their own silos — guided by different regional priorities, regulatory interpretations, or sectoral agendas. The result is a patchwork of well-intentioned ideas, with limited scalability and no overarching framework to ensure they form part of a national water resilience strategy.

If we are to ensure a sustainable, secure water future for the UK, we must move beyond fragmented progress to a joined-up, systems-level approach — urgently.

Five Priority Areas for Cohesive Action

1. Regulatory Reform for Non-Potable Water Use

The UK’s regulatory environment remains a significant barrier to progress. Current frameworks do not adequately support the safe and scalable use of non-potable water in homes, commercial settings, or communal infrastructure. Until these barriers are removed, investments in rainwater, greywater and blackwater recycling technologies will be limited in impact.

We must update the regulations to permit decentralised, non-potable water supplies — whether delivered privately, municipally, or via water companies — and integrate these into wider planning and infrastructure strategies.

2. Mandatory Water Efficiency Standards in Fixtures and Fittings

Efficient toilets, taps, and showers should no longer be considered optional or ‘nice to have’. New builds must meet high-efficiency standards by default — and, crucially, this must extend to existing building stock through a planned and supported retrofit strategy wherever practical. The role of water efficiency in meeting net zero and adaptation goals is too important to ignore.

3. Mainstreaming Water Reuse Technologies

Technologies for greywater and blackwater reuse are proven, yet adoption is slow. A clear national policy framework is needed to support the design, installation, and ongoing performance monitoring of reuse systems across all scales — domestic, commercial, and industrial. Water reuse must move from the margins to the mainstream.

4. Strategic Expansion of Water Storage

While demand-side measures are essential, we must also invest in long-term supply resilience. Strategic reservoirs — carefully planned, publicly supported, and ecologically sound — remain a critical part of the UK’s water future. But they are only effective if integrated with demand reduction and water reuse measures.

5. Retrofitting for Resilience

The UK’s existing building stock represents both a major vulnerability and an enormous opportunity. We cannot meet future water demand without addressing the performance of the homes, offices, and facilities already in use. Any future policy must include enforceable requirements for retrofitting water efficiency and reuse systems — supported by technical guidance and funding mechanisms.

Local Stress, National Responsibility

It is true that water scarcity in the UK is not uniform. South East England faces significantly higher water stress than much of Scotland or Northern Ireland. However, this regional variability must not justify fragmented responses. A coherent national framework is essential, with enough flexibility for regional delivery but a shared strategic vision at its core. Especially as the picture changes, for example with Yorkshire declaring a drought recently after the driest start to a year in 96 years.

Without this national framework, we risk embedding inequality, inefficiency, and long-term insecurity into our water systems.

Conclusion: The Cost of Inaction Is Rising

The UK must stop treating water security as an ancillary issue. It underpins public health, housing delivery, food production, and climate resilience. As climate shocks become more frequent and demand for water continues to grow, a business-as-usual approach is no longer viable.

We need immediate, system-wide reform that unites industry, government, regulators, and consumers around a single goal: ensuring a sustainable water future through efficient use, innovative reuse, strategic storage, and modern regulation.

Anything less is a recipe for avoidable crisis.