One third of direct abstractors "already constrained by water availability"

One third of organisations with their own abstraction licences say their business is already constrained by the amount of water they can abstract according to regional water planning group, Water Resources West.

The finding emerged from research undertaken by among organisations that take water direct from the environment instead of from the public water supply. The resulting report, A thirst for change, also found:

• nearly 40% of abstractors were affected by drought last year – though only 6% asked their water company for help and only half have drought plans in place now;

• three-quarters of businesses would experience a major or significant impact if their abstraction licence was reduced by 25%;

• 94% of abstractors think their water use will increase by 2050; and

• only 1% of abstractors are currently part of a local abstractors group, but over two-thirds of abstractors show an interest in working with others.

Water Resources West said it will use the findings, and further work, to inform its water resource planning for the future.