Water resource use

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Total abstractions from non-tidal surface waters and groundwaters, 1995 and 2005

Source: Environment agency

Water abstraction by purpose, 2005 (total)

Source: Environment agency

Water abstraction by purpose, 2005 (percentage)

Source: Environment agency

Regions shown are Environment Agency Regions, based on river catchments and may not coincide with Government Office Regions.
For all regions except Southern and the South West there was an increase in water abstractions between 1995 and 2005.
In both percentage terms and absolute terms, the North East region had the largest increase in daily water abstractions (an increase of 44 per cent; an extra 1.9 billion litres per day). There was a large increase in water used for electricity generation in the North East region.
Water abstractions in the South West decreased by 21 per cent or 0.9 billion litres per day, over the same period.
On average for England and Wales in 2005, 49 per cent of water abstractions were used for the public water supply. However there was wide variation regionally, with 90 per cent of abstractions in the Thames region used for public water supply compared with only 34 per cent in the South West region.
Abstractions for electricity generation ranged from less than 1 per cent of total abstractions in the Southern and Anglian regions to 40 per cent in the North East region.

Updated: 31 January 2008