:00:28. > :00:34.Tonight, we investigate what is going on with England's water. Here,
:00:34. > :00:41.there is a surplus of water. If they need it, why can't they use
:00:41. > :00:47.it? It is your family you are supporting by extracting this water.
:00:47. > :00:53.A what is the true story about our weather? How can hour when the
:00:53. > :00:55.country have a dry out? All of that rain still has not
:00:55. > :01:00.replenished our hidden underground water supply is.
:01:00. > :01:05.And even after the last month's rain, the Environment Secretary
:01:05. > :01:08.tells us we need more to guarantee there will not be standpipes in our
:01:08. > :01:13.streets. The whereas it is unlikely we will
:01:13. > :01:19.have standpipes this year, if we have another try winter, it becomes
:01:19. > :01:29.more likely. The this is all coming up on
:01:29. > :01:35.
:01:35. > :01:41.It certainly was an April of showers. Despite the downpours, our
:01:41. > :01:45.region, with many others, is officially in a drought. Here in
:01:45. > :01:52.the West Midlands, a major supplier has more water than its customers
:01:52. > :01:57.need. If we have so much, how can we be running short?
:01:57. > :02:00.Right now it might feel like it has not stopped raining but in the
:02:00. > :02:06.Midlands, we have had precious little rain in the last two years
:02:06. > :02:12.and the level of our grand water and rivers have plunged. Officially,
:02:12. > :02:15.we are in drought. The Environment Agency has added
:02:15. > :02:20.the Midlands and the South West of England to the area has already
:02:20. > :02:29.affected. So why is the biggest company
:02:29. > :02:37.offering to sell other water? I thought I'd try it meant we did
:02:37. > :02:40.not have enough water. -- a drought. So who does not have enough and too
:02:40. > :02:50.has too much and why cant those with too much give it to those that
:02:50. > :02:52.
:02:52. > :02:59.need it? Dr Chapman works that they weather
:02:59. > :03:06.Centre. This is a consequence of the jet
:03:06. > :03:09.stream moving slightly north. It is crucial to the climate in this
:03:09. > :03:15.country. Does that mean that Scotland, for
:03:15. > :03:20.example, is getting our rain? This is where the regional
:03:20. > :03:25.disparities as a whole. In 2011, the country did receive the average
:03:25. > :03:29.rainfall but it was where it was falling - in the far north and west,
:03:29. > :03:34.and far away from the areas of high population.
:03:34. > :03:39.So, this is an environment whole trout and is directly linked to the
:03:39. > :03:44.black -- lack of rainfall in the Midlands.
:03:44. > :03:50.We have built up a big debt in the last two years and one month of
:03:50. > :03:56.over average rainfall will not repay that. It could take up to six
:03:56. > :04:00.months of above-average rainfall. So, it could take a long time to
:04:00. > :04:09.get back where we should be. But why can Severn Trent sell our
:04:09. > :04:15.water? Where does seven Trent get it
:04:15. > :04:22.water? Why do you have so much? have sources around the Midlands.
:04:22. > :04:28.We take water from Wales. We have reservoirs in the Derwent Valley.
:04:28. > :04:32.And we have about 10 reservoirs dotted around. The key thing is
:04:32. > :04:36.that all of these systems are connected and we can move water
:04:36. > :04:40.around the region when we need to. Because we have enough water in the
:04:40. > :04:45.right places, we have enough for our customers' needs and we have a
:04:45. > :04:49.small surplus. We have offered that first of all to our colleagues in
:04:49. > :04:55.East Anglia to see if they can make use of the 30 million litres per
:04:55. > :05:01.day, that small surplus that we have. Can you be sure that we will
:05:01. > :05:06.not need is what on ourselves? first priority is to make sure we
:05:06. > :05:13.have enough rest -- water in our reservoirs to satisfy our
:05:13. > :05:16.customers' needs. We are satisfied of that position and we will
:05:16. > :05:21.double-checked before we supply water to Anglian Water. A inside
:05:21. > :05:25.Staffordshire, Welsh Water have also confirmed that we have
:05:25. > :05:32.sufficient water stocks. It appears our domestic suppliers are safe for
:05:32. > :05:37.now. Who is being affected? Our agricultural industry. Farmers like
:05:37. > :05:44.this man, the level of rain they get can make or break their
:05:44. > :05:50.business. This is one of your main water sources? Yes, we have four
:05:50. > :05:55.miles of frontage with the seven. It is easy to derogate from because
:05:55. > :06:03.we can put the pump near the edge and bring the power over the top of
:06:03. > :06:09.the Bank. And this is potatoes? There are some underground pipes.
:06:09. > :06:12.But he cannot just help himself to this water. Like all farms, the
:06:12. > :06:18.amount he can take and when is controlled by the Environment
:06:18. > :06:24.Agency. At the moment, we know there is a drought. Is that having
:06:24. > :06:28.an impact? It is having an impact on my ability to extract from the
:06:28. > :06:33.Avon and from the seven. I have to inform the Environment Agency every
:06:33. > :06:37.morning to check there is sufficient flow to extract. But if
:06:38. > :06:47.Severn Trent has too much water, why can they not supply that to our
:06:47. > :06:54.farmers. All licences are issued by the water -- environment Agency and
:06:54. > :06:58.there are conditions about when the water drops below a given level.
:06:58. > :07:03.are under the same requirements as the farmers. In the future, it is
:07:03. > :07:09.possible that the licensing regime could become less bureaucratic and
:07:09. > :07:13.more flexible and we might be able to help provide water for former's
:07:13. > :07:19.in the future. At the moment, the licensing regime is quite difficult
:07:19. > :07:25.to operate and quite slow. So you could not help farmers even if you
:07:25. > :07:29.wanted? Of Anglican water did not want that water supply, at the
:07:29. > :07:34.moment, the farmers would still have to apply to the Environment
:07:34. > :07:41.Agency to see if they could it -- take the water but it is not easy
:07:41. > :07:47.because of the regulatory regime. As it is the environment agency
:07:47. > :07:51.that regulates these licences, what are they doing to help farmers?
:07:51. > :07:58.have pressed the system as far as recant in terms of what we can
:07:58. > :08:02.legally do. We have looked at allowing them to take higher floors
:08:02. > :08:06.and the summer. We have tried to be as flexible as we can and if a
:08:06. > :08:11.farmer starts having trouble in terms of the licensing regime, if
:08:11. > :08:15.they taught was, we will see them on a case to case basis.
:08:15. > :08:19.farmers trying to cope with the drought, is there anything farmers
:08:19. > :08:23.would like to see government on the environment Agency doing? I think
:08:23. > :08:26.there is a nervousness about sitting down with the Environment
:08:26. > :08:32.Agency with the fear that they don't quite understand that the
:08:33. > :08:36.amount of water we take out is only 1% of our water usage. It is such a
:08:36. > :08:42.small percentage and to the individual are extracting that
:08:42. > :08:47.water, it could be a make-or-break of their business. That makes it
:08:47. > :08:53.very difficult to sit down with an official who you feel does not
:08:53. > :08:57.understand your situation. But it seems that even the Environment
:08:57. > :09:01.Agency has their hands are tied by a system that cannot cope with
:09:01. > :09:06.modern weather patterns and demand for water. I think we are happy to
:09:06. > :09:11.say that the system we have going for would probably needs to be more
:09:12. > :09:20.flexible. You are working on doing that. Is it going as smoothly and
:09:20. > :09:24.quickly as the agency would like? There is a need to consult, we've
:09:24. > :09:31.got to be more flexible but it is not easy to change a system that
:09:31. > :09:35.has been in place over 50 years and it has built up in terms of how
:09:35. > :09:40.farmers use their land and how much is available for the environment.
:09:40. > :09:44.It will be a long process to change those legal entitlements into
:09:44. > :09:50.something new. If you are going to give someone extra water, you have
:09:50. > :09:55.to take it away from somewhere, either another abstract or or the
:09:55. > :09:59.environment. Despite having one of the wettest April on record, the
:09:59. > :10:06.system as it stands does not always allow was to get that water to
:10:06. > :10:08.where it is needed. Whilst you and I might have planned to of water
:10:08. > :10:14.for Mullah Homes and Gardens this summer, if the dry weather
:10:14. > :10:23.continues, others might not be so lucky. It is your livelihood that
:10:23. > :10:33.you are supporting. An individual in a large organisation will step -
:10:33. > :10:33.
:10:33. > :10:40.- still get paid whether you have the water or not. What about the
:10:40. > :10:42.rest of the country? How serious has it become? We asked a
:10:42. > :10:46.meteorologist to take a trip through England from the wettest
:10:46. > :10:56.area as to the driest and there were some myths to explore along
:10:56. > :11:10.
:11:10. > :11:15.The latest trick is England's wettest place and looking below,
:11:15. > :11:21.the work tried is the last thing that comes to mind. There are
:11:21. > :11:27.reservoirs with billions of litres of water. With all of this, how
:11:27. > :11:32.come so much of England is in drought? The Met Office is looking
:11:32. > :11:36.into what is behind this apparent change in our climate. The first
:11:36. > :11:43.place they are looking is the jet stream that carries the way in --
:11:44. > :11:48.reign bedding weather fronts. jet stream has tended to be further
:11:48. > :11:52.north. By the time it get to those parts of England, it is running
:11:52. > :11:57.into a high pressure and it is not doing the job that we hope, which
:11:57. > :12:04.is to dump a decent amount of rain and top up the water's in the
:12:04. > :12:09.aquifers. At this time of year we are competing with nature for water.
:12:09. > :12:13.Everywhere is competing. Cabal everywhere around us is turning
:12:13. > :12:20.green and the river is starting to fill up, what you don't see in some
:12:20. > :12:25.parts of the country is even more important, and that is under ground.
:12:25. > :12:33.His is the water underground, not reservoirs, that supply 75% of the
:12:33. > :12:37.most populated parts of England. 170 miles south and I am in drought
:12:37. > :12:39.country, in the East Midlands. I am visiting the National Geological
:12:39. > :12:45.Survey in Nottingham where they constantly monitor the level of
:12:45. > :12:51.tried water. Using data from thousands of boreholes, they have
:12:51. > :12:57.created an underground map of Britain. The areas in green, the
:12:57. > :13:02.top, in this out of Britain and up into Lincolnshire, it is a very
:13:02. > :13:06.important aquifer. It is only be charged by rainfall in the winter
:13:06. > :13:14.and we have had two relatively dry winters so we have not had the
:13:14. > :13:17.recharger we would expect. Groundwater of Nat -- and water
:13:17. > :13:25.levels have remained normal in the North but as you drop further south,
:13:25. > :13:30.they have dropped by up to a third. And the last two years, only four
:13:31. > :13:40.months have been more wet than normal. To find out how low our
:13:41. > :13:45.
:13:45. > :13:49.ground water stocks are, I joined a Along the, the most important
:13:49. > :13:55.source of ground water, the chalk aquifer. Today we found out how far
:13:55. > :13:59.we have to go down to find that of water. It is effectively a giant
:13:59. > :14:03.pressurised sponge full of water which the Victorians tapped with
:14:03. > :14:11.Welles liked this one. The water would normally be about 20 metres
:14:12. > :14:15.below ground level. How far down are we? The King promising. I can
:14:15. > :14:21.see a reflection towards the bottom of the well but we are only about
:14:21. > :14:31.30 metres below where we started. Before long, we pass the point
:14:31. > :14:31.
:14:31. > :14:36.where we would normally find water. You're seeing really dry walls so
:14:36. > :14:40.if there was any moisture, the walls would be listening.
:14:40. > :14:46.Even though it has been pouring with rain, that rained down here
:14:46. > :14:53.has not made any difference yet. would take weeks or months for the
:14:53. > :15:03.water to infiltrate but it will be taken up by the plants. A we're
:15:03. > :15:04.
:15:04. > :15:09.coming up to 34 metres. That is the surface of the water. We have 180
:15:09. > :15:16.years of records. This is the fifth or sixth digest we have seen it in
:15:16. > :15:20.April. Pretty war. The last major drought was in 1976 win a dry
:15:20. > :15:26.winter was followed by a hot summer. We're seeing save water, we are
:15:26. > :15:30.going to need it. People are forced to get their water from standpipes.
:15:30. > :15:33.This one is different. It is not hot and sunny but has been pouring
:15:33. > :15:37.down with rain but we have been told there could be drought until
:15:37. > :15:41.Christmas. No one is saying all this rain we're having is not
:15:41. > :15:46.making a difference. We have had one of her wettest April's even
:15:46. > :15:53.with flooding. That rain has not yet reached where many of us get a
:15:53. > :15:59.water from it - the aquifers. What the Victorians started was expanded
:15:59. > :16:04.to exploit natural resources on a big -- at bigger scale. This
:16:05. > :16:10.aquifer is operated by South East Water provided -- supplying 2.1
:16:10. > :16:16.million customers. Down there, that is the precious water. Hula the
:16:16. > :16:24.aquifers? Are very serious situation. Other underground
:16:24. > :16:28.aquifers are afraid I and people think things are fine when you look
:16:28. > :16:34.at the reservoirs with the recent weather. We have pumps down to
:16:34. > :16:40.levels they have never been to before. That means it is even worse
:16:40. > :16:48.than 1976. I think it is worse and is far more widespread. Our
:16:48. > :16:50.greatest fear is that we have a third dry winter. The level of the
:16:50. > :16:55.charge in our groundwater is one- third lower than it should be after
:16:55. > :16:58.two dry winters and a role. We have come a long way from the Lake
:16:58. > :17:04.District and it seems to me and even further from that soaking rain
:17:04. > :17:08.that has been falling above ground. Down here, it is winter rain that
:17:08. > :17:18.matters and if we don't get enough in the next winter, we are all
:17:18. > :17:22.
:17:22. > :17:29.Things could actually get worse if we have another dry winter. What
:17:29. > :17:33.options do we have? Is there actually a strategy in place? Our
:17:33. > :17:37.investigation began in a part of the world where there used to life
:17:37. > :17:42.with little end. A place where we may bail to pick up some tips on
:17:42. > :17:50.how to live with dry weather conditions.
:17:50. > :17:54.-- able to pick up. This church has stood here in this
:17:54. > :17:59.valley in northern Spain for 500 years but they shouldn't even be
:17:59. > :18:04.able to be here because this is the bottom of a reservoir. That spire
:18:04. > :18:08.is usually submerged under thousands of tons of water. The
:18:08. > :18:12.reason it is so dry as Spain is going through its worst drought for
:18:13. > :18:18.70 years. Reservoirs are drying out and forest fires have been raging
:18:19. > :18:26.in parts of the country. Look at the water line here. What he had it
:18:26. > :18:31.should be and how well it is. -- look how high it should be. Can
:18:31. > :18:36.Spain give us a glimpse into an uncomfortable future?
:18:36. > :18:39.Four years ago, the situation got so bad the taps and Barcelona up
:18:39. > :18:49.almost ran dry and the City was forced to shed in supplies from
:18:49. > :18:53.France. It is -- its 3.5 million residents have had to completely
:18:53. > :18:57.change their attitudes towards water. I find it incredible that
:18:57. > :19:04.something as simple as water had to be transported in tankers and to
:19:04. > :19:09.Barcelona. What was that like? is the first as far as I know. It
:19:09. > :19:14.never had to be carried through for a very long time but before that,
:19:14. > :19:20.there was a sensation that it was not going to be easy, that if the
:19:20. > :19:24.drought continued people would have to have water rations. How have you
:19:24. > :19:30.adapted Julie still in the current climate where water is not as an
:19:30. > :19:36.abundance? We became conscious of how pressure up -- precious water
:19:36. > :19:40.is when you go about have emergency measures. The children talked about
:19:40. > :19:43.it in school and they had an easier time adapting to turning the tap
:19:43. > :19:48.off all the time and becoming the lot of police. Through simple
:19:48. > :19:52.measures such as turning off taps and having time showers and
:19:52. > :19:58.teaching water conservation and its schools, Barcelona is well on its
:19:58. > :20:04.way to becoming one of the world's leading cities and saving water.
:20:04. > :20:09.People here do we -- use just 107 litres a day compared to 150 in the
:20:09. > :20:15.UK. Across the city, they have tried using waters from showers to
:20:15. > :20:19.flush toilets as well as recycling the water and Barcelona's famous
:20:19. > :20:24.fountains. It is not the first and what be the last time Barcelona has
:20:24. > :20:31.faced the rout. That experience four years ago forced people to
:20:31. > :20:35.change the way the think about what a run every level. This place was
:20:35. > :20:42.the answer. They built this massive be salinisation plant, the largest
:20:42. > :20:48.in Europe. By taking sea water from the Mediterranean, the plant can
:20:48. > :20:55.produce 180 million litres of fresh water very day. That is still only
:20:55. > :21:01.one fifth of the city's need so it is used as a stop gap. The system
:21:01. > :21:06.is much more secure because of this plant. This is not total security.
:21:06. > :21:13.The plant allows us time to function between rainy periods. If
:21:13. > :21:17.there is that drought, the plant can produce more. After building
:21:17. > :21:22.Europe's first be salinisation plant 40 years ago, it is now a
:21:22. > :21:25.world leader in the technology. The water produced here is very
:21:25. > :21:34.expensive than the Barcelona plant uses enough energy to power a small
:21:34. > :21:40.town. Spain uses must -- most of its water for agriculture but we
:21:40. > :21:46.use most of our sport our power stations. Around 40% of the rest is
:21:47. > :21:50.used in homes and gardens but the problem is we used to much. As head
:21:50. > :21:55.of water resources at the Environment Agency, it is Trevor
:21:55. > :21:59.Bishop's job to try to find a solution. As turning salt water
:22:00. > :22:06.into freshwater the answer? already have one big the
:22:06. > :22:11.salinisation plant near London. The likelihood of more desalination
:22:11. > :22:21.plants in England is quite high but you do not want to rely on de
:22:21. > :22:25.Saloni -- desalination. It produces a lot of carbon. What a get moved
:22:25. > :22:32.down here. Is it an option for water companies to transfer water
:22:32. > :22:39.to drier parts? The Victorians tranced that -- started
:22:39. > :22:44.transferring water around. In the future, moving water around the
:22:44. > :22:49.even more with greater connectivity between the country's networks
:22:49. > :22:54.could be part of the answer. Are we talking about a national grid of
:22:54. > :22:58.water? As far as electricity is concerned, if somewhere is
:22:58. > :23:01.generating electricity do not get Blackett and part of the country so
:23:01. > :23:08.why should we have drought conditions in one part of the
:23:08. > :23:16.country and not another? We're not talking about the National Grid in
:23:16. > :23:19.the same way as electricity. What is difficult and expensive to move
:23:19. > :23:24.and you do not want to rely on moving water around the country
:23:24. > :23:28.exclusively. If desalination has problems and we shouldn't rely on
:23:28. > :23:35.moving water, what is like to happen if we have deferred a dry
:23:35. > :23:41.winter? We would be in a very bad place and we have never worked out
:23:41. > :23:45.the consequences if the dry winters and a role. You would be expecting
:23:45. > :23:49.measures to try to conserve water quite dramatically. There would be
:23:49. > :23:53.standpipes in the streets and people's water supply would be cut
:23:53. > :24:00.off. We don't know the numbers of people that would be involved but
:24:00. > :24:03.it could be tens of thousands. As far as I am aware, there is no
:24:04. > :24:08.strategic national plan to deal with three dry winters and a role.
:24:08. > :24:14.I would like to be proven wrong in think we had a plan but I don't
:24:14. > :24:18.know of one. I think our plan is based on hope that it rains and
:24:18. > :24:23.hope is a very poor strategy for dealing with the risky and
:24:23. > :24:28.important business. Is there a strategy are not?
:24:28. > :24:32.Caroline Spelman is the Environment Secretary. Yes. We have to have
:24:32. > :24:35.contingency plans and it is a natural phenomenon that can occur
:24:36. > :24:41.at any time. We have been planning for it and what we're putting in
:24:42. > :24:45.place now are the measures to deal with it. Things like the temporary
:24:45. > :24:49.restriction on non-essential use each of what art is something that
:24:49. > :24:54.we plan to do in order to conserve water and make sure we don't have
:24:55. > :25:00.to move to more stringent restrictions later. 3.3 billion
:25:00. > :25:06.litres of water, one quarter of that, is lost every day. Is that
:25:06. > :25:14.acceptable? We have to encourage the water companies to reduce
:25:14. > :25:18.leakage. Should the targets be more stringent? Germany lowest 10%.
:25:18. > :25:22.is the economic regulator that sets targets but things are a challenge
:25:22. > :25:26.to the industry to meet. Government is also pushing water
:25:26. > :25:29.companies to do more to connect up supplies across the country.
:25:29. > :25:34.Caroline Spelman says we need to think differently about the water
:25:34. > :25:39.we use. When you go to a dry country and you explain to them
:25:40. > :25:43.that in a country like ours, we used drinking water for everything
:25:43. > :25:48.- we wash our clothes in it, flasher toilets with it, wash up
:25:48. > :25:52.with it, they are sometimes quite surprised by that. Can you
:25:52. > :25:57.guarantee that if we get a third dry winter we will not have water
:25:57. > :26:02.rationing and standpipes? I am not deluded into thinking I can tell
:26:02. > :26:06.you how much rain we are going to get. It is far too early to tell
:26:06. > :26:11.whether we will have the wet winter we do need. Whereas it is most
:26:11. > :26:15.unlikely that we will have standpipes this year, with another
:26:15. > :26:19.dry winter, that becomes more likely.
:26:19. > :26:23.Get in the recent heavy rain and floods in the UK, top of standpipes
:26:23. > :26:28.may sound extraordinary but as they have discovered and Spain, the
:26:28. > :26:33.world is changing. Climate change and an expanding population mean
:26:33. > :26:36.demand for water is set to increase and even if the rains to come this
:26:36. > :26:45.winter, we were all pretty soon have to think of drinking water as
:26:45. > :26:50.the precious and scarce natural resource it really is.
:26:50. > :27:00.David White claimed with some other options for the future. Just got
:27:00. > :27:03.time for the weather story here in the West Midlands.
:27:04. > :27:08.This April was the wettest the UK has seen in 100 years and the
:27:08. > :27:13.region was no exception. Local geography plays a huge party and
:27:13. > :27:18.our weather. Here in the West Midlands we are more prone to
:27:18. > :27:27.thunderstorms and coastal regions. The hills provide shelter but river
:27:27. > :27:32.valleys are prone to fog and frost. We are not immune to extreme
:27:32. > :27:39.weather either. The last decade has seen drought, floods and even
:27:39. > :27:43.Tornados. Forecasting up to two days ahead is pretty accurate.
:27:43. > :27:53.Anything beyond five days is more unpredictable which is why we only
:27:53. > :27:56.
:27:56. > :28:02.ever commit to a five-day forecast. Here is the next five days. Today
:28:02. > :28:05.and tomorrow, cloudy with showers. Heavy rain overnight tonight and a
:28:05. > :28:10.minimum of eight Celsius. Thursday sees more rain in southern
:28:11. > :28:16.countries with their north becoming wetter in the afternoon. Freddie is
:28:16. > :28:21.mainly dry with lot of cloud. Rain spread than for a wet afternoon and
:28:21. > :28:25.a cool 12 Celsius. The weekend is colder with light frost. Saturday
:28:25. > :28:31.and Sunday should remain dry but Bank Holiday Monday will see a
:28:31. > :28:41.return of showers. That is all for tonight but back
:28:41. > :28:46.