Thames Water court case shows there are alternatives to massive infrastructure

Julie Mabberley, an Abingdon reservoir protester, near a field that will be submerged. Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Observer

Britain is running out of water, we are told. Soon there will be curfews, banning people from turning on their taps, as happens in Italy. Standpipes will sprout on the side of parched roads where trees once stood.

Rivers will run dry and rural communities will begin digging wells in response to a water apocalypse destined to arrive courtesy of the ravaging effect of climate change.