Why do parts of England and Wales keep falling into drought?

Sir John Armitt, former president of the National Infrastructure Commission, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Thursday: "We request to put for the agelong term, successful caller h2o retention facilities, whether it's astatine the section level supporting farmers oregon astatine a ample standard with the h2o companies themselves being allowed to physique reservoirs," He said that for a agelong clip governments have resisted building new reservoirs on the ground, arguing that alternative solutions could be found, but the recent upwind extremes the UK has been experiencing "have truly caught radical out". There has been nary large reservoir completed in England since 1992. Sir Jon Cunliffe, former Bank of England deputy governor, reviewed the assemblage last year and concluded that determination had been "underinvestment" - blaming both the water industry and regulators. Sir John Armitt also said that the industry must additionally address leakage and usage. "That's beholden connected each of america to effort to trim the magnitude we use, and we could prevention a akin magnitude if we could get down to the levels of Denmark who usage astir 100 litres per idiosyncratic a day." The mean usage per person in the UK is around 140 litres. Water UK, which represents the industry, said at the time, in response: "Everyone agrees the strategy has not been working.... cardinal alteration has been agelong overdue." There are presently 2 reservoirs pencilled for completion in 2036 and the 2040s, with further schemes acceptable for approval. In May last year, the government said that water companies had committed to delivering nine new reservoirs by 2050. They would be located in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Suffolk, Kent, East Sussex, and the West Midlands. The government said that these reservoirs have the potential to supply 670 cardinal litres of additional water per day. Additional reporting by Tom Ingham, Charlotte Hadfield and Ella Kipling.