It is disappointing to hear that the promised Water White Paper has been delayed till the autumn according to Environment Minister Richard Benyon. The reason cited is the need to develop the policy on affordability of water following the announcement in the budget that action would be taken to tackle the very high water bills in the South West. This is likely to prove a very difficult area to tackle especially now that expectations have been raised.
Yet again this year is proving one of climate extremes with the very dry and warm April. In the blog's area, Somerset, rainfall last year was one of the lowest in 100 years, with December the driest month on record. Water supplies is just one of the key areas that the Water White paper will address. Given the very long lead time to develop new water resources this guidance is urgently needed.
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