Water shares plan aims to preserve England's supplies

摘要

The introduction of a proposed new "water shares" system, which would see all water abstractors own a share in their local water catchment, could create a sense of mutual responsibility among abstractors to preserve water supply and better promote water trading during times of water stress, according to the ICE. In its response to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs' (Defra) Making the Most of Every Drop consultation, which seeks to reform the water abstraction management system and address concerns around the impact of current abstraction permits on water supply, the ICE said meeting England's future water needs under current circumstances would become "increasingly challenging" and agreed on the need for abstraction reform. It also welcomed the concept of a new water shares option incentivising the trading of water during times of scarcity.