No rain? Share your neighbour's water
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Social
Small-scale water transfers have been occurring for decades in the UK. But as population growth intensifies demand for water and climate change threatens to disrupt supply, companies are starting to think beyond local, ad hoc transactions. Last spring's drought left England's water purveyors contemplating more frequent and formal trading arrangements to ensure their districts never dry up.
A nationwide trading network may arrive next year as the UK Government has mandated that water companies submit a long-term plan for managing the country's resources by March 2013. While measures for reducing consumption, such as repairing leaky infrastructure, will factor into the plan, water swaps may well be central.
"The idea is to identify surplus within the system," says Luke DeVial, head of environment and resources atWessex Water. "Then all companies can enter detailed negotiations and consider trading options."
Read more:http://j.mp/XIrgTX