Environment Agency efforts fail to stem river abstraction

DEFRA’s latest estimates, published today, show an overall rise in abstraction from surface and groundwater of 7.5% in 2017 from 2016.  At its lowest point, in 2011, around 8.2 billion cubic metres of water was being taken per year, but since then, abstraction has increased by 27% to an estimated 10.4 billion cubic metres in 2017.

The figures, covering 2000-2017, show a steady increase since 2013, following a period of gradual decline in abstraction between 2000 and 2011.