England’s rivers ‘under threat’ as water extraction surges to record levels

River abstraction has consequences for fish, animals, plants and wildlife habitats, which ecologists are monitoring. On the River Itchen, in Hampshire, just 133 salmon returned in 2022, the lowest number ever recorded, with just 187 in 2024. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

The amount of water being sucked from England’s rivers has surged to record levels, with potentially disastrous consequences for people and wildlife, it can be revealed.

An investigation into licensing data by Watershed Investigations and the Guardian found that the volume of water taken from rivers and lakes for industrial or public consumption has jumped 76% in two decades: an average of 11.6m cubic metres (410 cu ft) was abstracted annually in the five years to 2023, up from 6.6m in the early 2000s.