Yes, the hot weather's lovely... but we're sleepwalking into crisis

Yes, the hot weather's lovely... but we're sleepwalking into crisisOPINION - JAMES WALLACE: Another hosepipe ban won't cut the mustard - we need structural change in how we manage our water Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Add us as preferred source Comments OPINION By James Wallace – Guest Columnist 10:15, Wed, May 27, 2026 Updated: 10:22, Wed, May 27, 2026 British reservoirs are increasingly running dry over hot summers (Image: Phil Taylor / SWNS)As the nation swelters in record-breaking temperatures, England is sleepwalking into a water crisis. Across large parts of the country we are experiencing abnormally warm weather. Rainfall has been scarce for months and, when it has come, it has often fallen onto baked, hardened ground unable to absorb it. Rivers are already running low. Wetlands are drying. Aquifers are under pressure before summer has even properly begun. window.scriptsToLoad.push({url:'https://live.primis.tech/live/liveView.php?s=118222&vp_content=plembed3a6btjknzwqh&cbuster=%%CACHEBUSTER%%&playerApiId=v118222',triggeredBy:'tcfLoaded',delay:1500,containerId:'ovp-primis',title:"Primis player",beforeLoad:()=>{window.top.addEventListener('primisPlayerInit',e=>{try{if(e.detail&&e.detail.playerApiId==="v118222"){if(window.document.getElementsByClassName('jwplayer')[0]){e.detail.float('disable')}}}catch(e){}})},}) Last week’s House of Lords report, Surviving drought: reclaim the rain, should have been a national wake-up call. Instead, it barely registered in public debate. It ought to have landed like a fire alarm. The report is devastating in its conclusions. England faces a projected daily water shortfall of five billion litres by 2055. Climate change is bringing hotter summers, more erratic rainfall and longer dry spells. Our water infrastructure is leaking, outdated and unprepared. Rivers and ecosystems are already being pushed beyond their limits by chronic over-abstraction. Article...