Future Water Demand

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Why is the project relevant to you?

As pressures on water resources increase and growth continues, its important spatial planners understand how water companies assess and plan to meet future demand. Strengthened links between spatial and Water Resource planning will support sustainable growth with appropriate supporting infrastructure.

Key messages for Town and country planning specialists

Forecasting future non household water demand is complex, with different methods producing a wide range of possible outcomes. Understanding this uncertainty is important for anyone looking to influence water resource planning, which in turn enables sustainable growth.

Call to action

Greater consistency in planning application forms across neighbouring authorities would help water companies to more effectively use this data to verify and plan for expected near-term growth.

Call to action

Encouraging or requiring commercial planning applicants to consider the likely water demand of end users would prompt early thinking about water use and will nudge businesses towards more water efficient practices.

Providing this information at the planning stage also gives water companies valuable information to improve the accuracy of demand forecasts and supporting more resilient infrastructure planning.

Call to action