The politics of water: Planning, people and the pressure to deliver.

Written By Matthew Crisp – Director

Recent headlines have presented a stark warning: England could run out of drinking water within the next decade. Years of underinvestment, population growth, climate change, and the pressures of extreme weather have left the water sector facing a generational challenge with an even harder message to convey. The question isn’t if new infrastructure is required, but how quickly we can deliver it . . . and bring the public along with us.  

The approval of Hampshire Thicket in 2021 marked a significant planning milestone, paving the way for future reservoir development. More recently, the government gave the green light to two new reservoirs in East Anglia and Lincolnshire—the first approvals of their kind in over 30 years.  

These decisions align with the government’s broader ambition to deliver nine new reservoirs across the UK by 2050. This long-overdue move signals a growing recognition of the urgent need to build the UK’s water resilience through major infrastructure investment.  

But building new water infrastructure is only half the challenge. Securing public and political support is the other – and that hinges on meaningful communication and engagement. 

Despite increasing evidence of water stress and changing weather patterns, public understanding of water scarcity remains low. For many, the perception that water is an abundant and reliable resource persists, because, let’s face it, the UK is famous for its rain. But this view is increasingly at odds with reality—a 2025 report by the Consumer Council for Water found that 83% of UK consumers believe there are plenty or moderate levels of water available in their area, underscoring a widespread disconnect between perception and the growing pressures on water resources. 

This comes at a time when distrust in water companies is high. High-profile pollution incidents, concerns over leakage, and decades of underinvestment have eroded public and stakeholder confidence in the sector. This necessitates a careful and credible approach to making the case for large-scale water infrastructure.  

There is also a generational gap in public familiarity with water infrastructure. Since the sector’s privatisation in 1989, no new major reservoirs have been built. This creates a challenge of communicating the need for what will be disruptive projects to a public that has limited experience of seeing them delivered. Reservoirs require a huge amount of land and energy to construct, and can take between 10 – 15 years to deliver.    

To gain support for major water infrastructure investment, government and water companies need to focus on meaningful and effective engagement. Public involvement and open dialogue will be crucial to overcoming scepticism, addressing concerns, and building the trust required to bring the sector’s infrastructure up to standard.   

To bring people along on this journey, communications should focus on:  

• Transparency: clear and consistent messaging focused on the needs case. This includes acknowledging the long-term challenges, such as the pressures of changing weather patterns/climate change and the need to deliver more homes across the country, as well as the short-term impacts of construction and disruption.   

• Stakeholder and public involvement: people are more likely to support infrastructure if they understand it and feel involved. Early engagement, meaningful consultation, and co-created narratives with communities can build a sense of ownership and reduce opposition.  

• Media engagement: as with any industry, the media has a powerful role in shaping public and stakeholder opinion. The sector must lead the story more confidently, acknowledging historic underinvestment, explaining the consequences of inaction now, and the benefits for the future from investment in water resilience.   

The government’s action to accelerate the delivery of water infrastructure is needed and welcomed. But, its success will rely on collaboration between government, water companies, regulators, communities, and the wider public.  

With political will aligning behind urgent and ambitious reform, the groundwork is being laid for a more resilient and accountable water sector. However, this needs to be underpinned by a refreshed approach to communication that leads the conversation. Water companies must frame the need for infrastructure investment around historic under-investment, the realities of climate change, growing housing demand and increasing water scarcity. Strong consistent government messaging can and should reinforce this.