Water Resources Management Plans

In England, our climate is changing, our population is growing, and as a nation we want an improved environment along with a thriving economy, enabled by resilient water supplies. Action is required now to meet these objectives.

The scale of the challenge we face increases with time and, by 2050, we are looking at a shortfall of nearly 5 billion litres of water per day between the sustainable water supplies available and the expected demand. The deficit has been driven by an increasing population and growing economy, improvements to our water supplies to withstand future droughts, leaving water in the environment in important areas like chalk streams to ensure future abstractions are sustainable and adapting to the impact of climate change.

Water companies show through statutory water resources management plans how they are tackling this shortfall by 2050 through:

  • Improved demand management saving 2 billion litres of water per day
  • Reducing leakage by 1 billion litres per day
  • Investing in new sources of supply (such as reservoirs, water recycling, desalination and more) that will provide just under 2 billion litres of water per day


Plans and publications

(External link)

Water resources management plans (WRMPs)

Water companies must produce statutory WRMPs(External link) every 5 years. These show how they will achieve a secure supply of water to their customers and protect and enhance the environment over a minimum 25 year period.


(External link)

Report: water resources management plans 2023-2024

This report summarises and reviews progress on key water demand and supply metrics across wholesale water companies in England, for the year April 2023 to March 2024.
Read the report(External link). See the data(External link).


(External link)

WRMP joint regulator letters

The published correspondence between Ofwat, the Environment Agency and Defra, and ten water companies in England is now published on Ofwat’s website(External link).



Thank you for visiting our new water hub. This is a pilot service. We acknowledge not everything is covered here yet, this is a new offering which will grow over the coming months.

In England, our climate is changing, our population is growing, and as a nation we want an improved environment along with a thriving economy, enabled by resilient water supplies. Action is required now to meet these objectives.

The scale of the challenge we face increases with time and, by 2050, we are looking at a shortfall of nearly 5 billion litres of water per day between the sustainable water supplies available and the expected demand. The deficit has been driven by an increasing population and growing economy, improvements to our water supplies to withstand future droughts, leaving water in the environment in important areas like chalk streams to ensure future abstractions are sustainable and adapting to the impact of climate change.

Water companies show through statutory water resources management plans how they are tackling this shortfall by 2050 through:

  • Improved demand management saving 2 billion litres of water per day
  • Reducing leakage by 1 billion litres per day
  • Investing in new sources of supply (such as reservoirs, water recycling, desalination and more) that will provide just under 2 billion litres of water per day


Plans and publications

(External link)

Water resources management plans (WRMPs)

Water companies must produce statutory WRMPs(External link) every 5 years. These show how they will achieve a secure supply of water to their customers and protect and enhance the environment over a minimum 25 year period.


(External link)

Report: water resources management plans 2023-2024

This report summarises and reviews progress on key water demand and supply metrics across wholesale water companies in England, for the year April 2023 to March 2024.
Read the report(External link). See the data(External link).


(External link)

WRMP joint regulator letters

The published correspondence between Ofwat, the Environment Agency and Defra, and ten water companies in England is now published on Ofwat’s website(External link).



Thank you for visiting our new water hub. This is a pilot service. We acknowledge not everything is covered here yet, this is a new offering which will grow over the coming months.

Page last updated: 18 Nov 2024, 11:56 AM