3<\/p>\n Areas of Britain face running out of drinking water in just ten yearsCredit: Getty 3<\/p>\n Water Minister Emma Hardy says ‘unprecedented steps’ are now being takenCredit: Gov.UK<\/p>\n The emergency projects in East Anglia and Lincolnshire<\/a> have been declared \u201cnationally significant\u201d, stripping local authorities of the power to stop them.<\/p>\n New laws will also fast-track all future reservoirs, cutting red tape, as Britain races to keep the taps on.<\/p>\n The Government<\/a> admitted rapid population growth, crumbling infrastructure and climate pressure are all pushing the country towards a water supply crisis.<\/p>\n Water Minister Emma Hardy said: \u201cBritain is running out of drinking water.<\/p>\n “In fact, because of years of underinvestment under the Conservatives<\/a>, areas of the country will run out of drinking water by the middle of the next decade.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are taking these unprecedented steps to get reservoirs built and secure our drinking water<\/a> supplies for the decades to come.\u201d<\/p>\n Net migration has halved over the past year to 431,000 \u2014 but only after hitting a record 906,000 in 2023.<\/p>\n The Lincolnshire<\/a> reservoir, south of Sleaford, will pump out 166million litres a day, enough for 500,000 homes<\/a> or 664million cups of tea.<\/p>\n And the Fens reservoir, near Chatteris and March, Cambs, will supply 87million litres to 250,000 homes in Britain\u2019s driest region.<\/p>\n Both projects are entering consultation. Lincolnshire\u2019s is expected to be completed by 2040 and Cambridgeshire\u2019s by 2036.<\/p>\n Is Bathroom Tap Water Safe to Drink? <\/p>\n Thousands of homes in areas such as Cambridge<\/a> and north Sussex<\/a> are blocked from being built owing to water shortages.<\/p>\n And a dry spring<\/a> has already depleted reservoirs. Haweswater in Cumbria<\/a> is so low the outline of a village flooded to create it in 1939 has been revealed.<\/p>\n The two new reservoirs are part of a wider plan to create nine new sites, supplying an extra 670million litres of water a day across England<\/a>.<\/p>\n Shadow Environment Secretary Victoria Atkins<\/a> accused Labour of trying to cover up its immigration<\/a> failures with panic measures.<\/p>\n ‘Panicked announcement’<\/p>\n She said: \u201cWith Labour\u2019s shambolic farming<\/a> policy and failure to grip immigration, it\u2019s no wonder they\u2019re making a panicked announcement about water supplies running low.\u201d<\/p>\n She also criticised ministers for using rising population as an excuse to \u201cconcrete over the green belt\u201d.<\/p>\n A Labour source said: “Atkins seems to have a lapse in her memory. It was the last Conservative Government that let immigration levels skyrocket to record levels and failed to build any reservoirs.<\/p>\n “While she is busy forgetting her own record in the Home Office, Labour is focused on cutting immigration and building the first reservoirs in three decades.”<\/p>\n PM Sir Keir Starmer<\/a> has pledged to bring down net migration but has refused to set a target number.<\/p>\n His comments came as Labour unveiled rules that will double the time migrants must wait to settle in Britain, scrap care worker visas for overseas recruits and raise the bar for skilled jobs<\/a> to degree level.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/glass-tap-water-988860098_57504b.jpg\")
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