From chalk streams to temperate rain forests, our irreplaceable and rare habitats need us to use less water

Wildlife habitats around chalk streams are being put under pressure by our demand for clean water. Photograph: Michael Roberts/Getty Images

At first glance, it seems bizarre to think that England could be running low on water. There’s our obsession with rain, for one: foreigners mock us as umbrella-sheltering, wellington-boot-wearing types who love to discuss our meteorological misfortune. Nobody is more than two hours’ drive from the coast; water has shaped our cultural identity from Walter Raleigh’s chivalric cloak-over-puddle shenanigans to the canals that crisscross our green and pleasant land.

It all suggests there’s an endless gush of H₂O for us all. Unfortunately, there isn’t. The demand for water in England – fuelled by population increases, more erratic weather and modern lifestyles – is placing growing pressure on the water sources we rely on.