New study reveals farm water fears

More than 90 per cent of businesses which abstract water believe their water use will increase by 2050, with three quarters of those saying their business would be significantly impacted if their abstraction licence was reduced, a new survey has revealed.

Water Resources West (WRW) this week released the results of its new survey, A Thirst for Collaboration, to understand the water resources issues faced by farmers and other businesses with water abstraction licences.

Researchers said it is the first survey of its kind and the findings have highlighted not only the problems abstractors face but also a desire from those industries to work together locally to improve water resources.

See also: Droughts and costs hitting Spanish farms

The survey was sent to 2,500 non-public water supply abstractors. Of those, one third said their business was already constrained by the amount of water they can abstract; nearly 40 per cent were affected by drought last year and three-quarters of businesses said they would experience a major or significant impact if their abstraction licence was reduced by 25 per cent; while 94 per cent thought their water use will increase by 2050.

The study also revealed only one per cent of abstractors are currently part of a local abstractors group, but over two-thirds of abstractors show an interest in working with others.

Richard Blackwell, director of Water Resources West, said: "Our role as WRW is to support collaborative planning so that all sectors can have access to the water they need, in a way that protects the environment. We were encouraged that over two-thirds of abstractors showed an interest in working with others. These results are extremely useful to inform the work we will need to undertake together."