With a relatively high rainfall, the United Kingdom (UK) is often perceived as water plentiful, but with a high population density the water availability per capita is no greater than many African and Middle Eastern countries. Faced with relatively low water availability and the possibility of rising demands placing ever more stress on the water environment, in the last five years demand management options have begun to be considered, for economic and environmental reasons, as a means of ensuring that supply and demand are kept in balance. The paper sets out the background to the water industry in England and Wales including the roles of the regulators: central Government, the economic regulator (Office of Water Services, OFWAT) and the environmental regulator (Environment Agency, EA). Recent droughts and the ensuing debate show how demand management came to be considered as a viable alternative to resource development. The paper describes how demand management is being implemented through the regulatory framework and how that framework has evolved to incorporate new and existing regulatory processes and tools: water resources planning, price setting, leakage targets, abstraction licensing, water efficiency plans, water fittings regulations and Integrated Pollution, Prevention and Control.
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