The Government has signalled stronger support for SuDS, rainwater harvesting and water reuse, following discussions in Westminster where the scale of England’s water resilience challenge came under renewed scrutiny.
Water Minister Emma Hardy has responded to a series of parliamentary questions highlighting the pressures on England’s water resources. MPs questioned the Government on drought resilience and future water shortages, leakage and ageing infrastructure, progress on new reservoirs and why existing storage had not been fully replenished. Questions were also raised over whether rising customer bills would translate into meaningful improvements in sewage discharges, leakage and pollution.
Emma Hardy ©House of Commons
Hardy’s responses underlined the scale of the investment now under way. Ofwat’s 2024 Price Review provides for a record £104 billion investment programme, including almost 3,000 storm overflow improvements and upgrades to more than 1,700 wastewater treatment works. Around £700 million is also being directed towards pressure management, leak repairs and mains replacement, with a further £1.7 billion supporting the rollout of approximately 10.4 million smart meters.
Then keeping up the momentum, Hardy returned to many of the same issues during a Commons debate on water management – but this time with greater emphasis on how water is managed before it ever reaches the drainage network.
Responding to a debate led by Taunton and Wellington MP Gideon Amos, Hardy backed what she described as a “pre-pipe” approach – managing rainfall where it falls through measures including SuDS, nature-based solutions and rainwater harvesting systems, rather than simply conveying it into already pressured sewer networks.
The Minister also confirmed that water-efficiency standards within the Building Regulations for new homes are being reviewed, including consideration of how rainwater and greywater reuse systems can be enabled where appropriate.
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The direction is already reflected in the Government’s Water Demand Environment Act Target Delivery Plan, which proposes tightening water-efficiency standards for new homes from 125 to 105 litres per person per day, and potentially 100 litres where there is a clear local need. It also commits to reviewing Part H of the Building Regulations specifically “to enable water reuse”.
Significantly for the flood sector, Government policy increasingly recognises that capturing and reusing rainfall can deliver benefits on both sides of the water equation. Rainwater harvesting can reduce demand for potable supplies while also reducing the volume and rate of surface water entering drainage and sewer networks.
The Government’s new national standards for sustainable drainage systems reinforce that approach, with rainwater harvesting sitting within the drainage hierarchy and required to be considered in specified circumstances, including where there is demand for non-potable water or a development is located in a seriously water-stressed area. The standards also seek to prevent the first 5mm of rainfall from the majority of rainfall events leaving a site as runoff to surface waters or piped drainage systems.
During the Commons debate, Hardy also emphasised the need for more joined-up planning, bringing together decisions around housing, water supply, wastewater, drainage and flood resilience rather than treating each as a separate challenge.
It is a particularly relevant discussion at a time when England faces the seemingly contradictory pressures of too little water and too much water. Increasingly, the answer to both may lie in how effectively rainfall is managed at source – slowing it down, storing it, allowing it to infiltrate and, wherever practical, putting it to use rather than simply sending it down the drain.
This article appeared in the Sep/Oct 2026 issue of Flood Industry magazine. You can view it here.