Tim Smedley’s long read on the state of water resources in the UK was very dispiriting (Drought is on the verge of becoming the next pandemic, 15 June). That something as basic as water is being mismanaged, and has been for decades, is shocking. This is especially so given that our taxes fund expert regulators to act on our behalf and oversee this resource, and the water companies that provide the services.
When the head of the Environment Agency confessed that our resource management systems were more than 50 years old, it was like saying our businesses are still running on typewriters and carbon paper. It is made more depressing because I spent a career in the water sector, including decades in developing countries. Specialists in all these countries know there are cost-effective solutions, but the problem is rarely technical or financial.
