Securing water for British agriculture: Challenges and strategies in 2025

Climate predictions suggest extreme weather will become increasingly common – and alongside this, Britain’s privatised water companies are facing intense criticism for deep-rooted and systemic failures in infrastructure and environmental stewardship. 

In 2023, the Environment Agency recorded 47 serious pollution incidents, mostly sewage spills by just four companies (Thames, Anglian, Southern, Yorkshire). 

Farmers feel the knock-on effects of this: contaminated water sources can endanger crop safety and animal health, and erode public confidence in the farming sector’s environmental conditions. 

As Andrew Blenkiron, managing director of Elveden Estate put it to us: “There’s no getting around the need for more and improved water storage. But that has to go hand in hand with water companies ensuring that they reduce leaks across all of their systems.” 

Change to come

British farmers are on the frontline of climate change and bear the brunt of its effects. The summer of 2022 and now the spring of 2025 have offered a stark preview of what looks to become a more regular occurrence.

In 2022, the prolonged heat and low rainfall slashed crop yields and even hit dairy output due to heat-stressed cows. Grass in pastures turned brown and stopped growing, forcing many farmers to dip into their winter feed stores by mid-summer. 

The UK Met Office projects that by 2050, average summer rainfall could drop ~25%, and summer river flows by ~45%. 

In other words, what we now consider an extreme drought could be a frequent occurrence in the farming calendar. 

In a compounding effect, increased temperatures also drive crops to use more water, evaporation from soils is increased, and human demand from residential and industrial centres will also increase.

Adapting to these changes is paramount. Farmers are increasingly turning to drought-tolerant crops, altering planting schedules, and improving water efficiency. 

However, experts warn that efficiency alone is not a silver bullet. Ultimately – more water will be needed. Therefore, efficiency measures must go hand-in-hand with practical, enforceable water allocation limits and carefully thought-out water storage strategies.

Government policy and regulation

Recent policy initiatives have reflected a recognition that farming needs a fair share of water resources and stronger drought safeguards. In 2023, under the previous government, DEFRA unveiled a comprehensive “Plan for Water”, integrating water quality and quantity targets.

For farmers, this brought in new support, with £10 million earmarked in a water-management grant to fund efficient irrigation equipment and the construction of farm reservoirs. 

At the same time, regulation of water abstraction is tightening. The Environment Agency (EA) is reviewing licenses to curb unsustainable withdrawals. 

By 2028, all existing water abstraction licenses in England are set to convert to Environmental Permits, and crucially, under the Environment Act 2021, the government can reduce or revoke even so-called “permanent” water licences without any compensation payment, if doing so is considered necessary to prevent environmental damage. 

Therefore, farmers who for decades have assumed and relied upon guaranteed water allocations must now prepare for possible cutbacks. 

With less certainty over water availability, farmers are having to adapt their practices not just to tighter regulations but also to the broader challenges posed by a changing climate.

Expanding water storage

To improve resilience in the face of drought, British agriculture is experiencing a boom in water storage projects at multiple scales. The highest-profile are the new regional reservoirs in Eastern England.

By granting the Fens and Lincolnshire reservoir proposals special status and speeding up planning, the government acknowledged that securing plentiful stored water is as critical as reducing waste. 

East Anglian farmers through WRE and NFU lobbied that water from the new reservoirs would be accessible to agriculture – either directly or by allowing farmers to substitute some of their groundwater abstraction with reservoir supply. 

Meanwhile, on-farm water storage is rapidly expanding as a near-term solution. Farmers are building their own reservoirs, lagoons, and water tanks to harvest winter rain or pumped high-flow river water, then store it for irrigation. 

For example, Elveden Estate on the Suffolk-Norfolk border is currently constructing its third irrigation reservoir at a cost of £3 million. We paid a visit and were struck by the size of the project. 

Giving Farmers Guide an up-close look, Andrew Blenkiron explained: “It’s principally about protecting what we’re already doing. Our reservoirs give us about 60% of what we use in an average year, and that drops to 40% in a really dry year. It’s about securing a strategic supply.” 

READ MORE: £1.1m to be invested in on-farm drought risk assessments
READ MORE: AHDB’s latest planting and variety survey: ‘Growers had to fight the weather again’

New funding streams 

However, for most farmers, planning permission and cost remain an often-insurmountable obstacle. Farmers are therefore calling for streamlined planning process for on-farm reservoirs; even smaller projects must comply with reservoir safety regulations and environmental assessments that can take years. 

Encouragingly, there are new funding streams and collaborative models to help farmers store and share water. 

DEFRA’s 2024 water resources fund explicitly supports multi-farm reservoir studies. This opens the door for neighbours to co-invest in shared reservoirs that may be too expensive for one farm alone.

Farmers are also innovating with alternative sources: in Suffolk, the Felixstowe Hydrocycle project is repurposing over 500,000 tonnes of excess drainage water each year from low-lying land and pumping it to storage for use by farms. 

In Lincolnshire, an abstractor group of 19 farms created a Lincoln Water Transfer scheme, pooling their rights to take water from the Fossdyke canal and then allocating that water via a shared pool system. 

Such cooperative approaches are effectively farmer-led water networks, and they look set to become more common as pressure on individual abstraction grows.

Practical insights

There are several actionable points that farmers and rural communities can consider:

• Invest in water storage and efficiency: Where feasible, take advantage of grants and funding to build on-farm reservoirs or winter-fill ponds, and upgrade to modern irrigation systems. Efficient drip or sprinkler systems, along with soil moisture sensors, can maximise each drop of water used.
• Plan for drought and prioritise needs: Develop a farm water plan that identifies which crops or livestock needs are top priorities in a drought. Mixed farm enterprises should consider scenarios where trade-offs are necessary, for example, allocating limited water to high-value or vulnerable crops and arranging alternative supplies (or destocking plans) for livestock in extreme conditions. Utilise available tools like EA’s water situation reports and seasonal forecasts to anticipate shortages. Also explore crop insurance or income protection products that cover drought-related losses, if available.
• Join or form an abstractor group: Collaborate with neighbouring farms by creating a Water Abstractor Group (WAG) if one doesn’t exist. WAGs have emerged as a practical mechanism through which farmers can collaborate to manage and safeguard their water use. Working together brings multiple benefits, the EA and NFU can often provide guidance for setting up a group, and some funding schemes now favour group applications.
• Engage in regional water planning: Lend your voice to regional initiatives such as Water Resources East (or the equivalent in your area). These bodies actively seek farmer input for shaping long-term water strategy. By participating in stakeholder meetings or responding to consultations, farmers can ensure that projects like new reservoirs or water transfers consider agricultural requirements. Don’t wait for others to speak up on behalf of farming; direct engagement can influence decisions.
• Explore innovative water sources: Think outside the box for additional water supply. Could your farm capture more rainwater from roofs or paved areas into storage tanks? Are there nearby industries or sewage works that produce treated wastewater which could be safely used on certain crops? If you have surplus winter abstraction capacity, consider recharging an aquifer beneath your land for later use. Also, keep an eye on water trading opportunities – in dry times, buying a few extra megalitres from a neighbour (with regulatory approval) might save a high-value crops. Conversely, if you have a well-filled reservoir, you might sell or loan water to others.
• Pressure and partner with water companies: Continue to hold water companies accountable for reducing waste and pollution. At the same time, be open to partnerships, as many water companies are looking to work with farmers in win-win projects, such as sponsorship of farm reservoirs that also bolster public supply, or offering subsidies to irrigate at off-peak times. 

By demonstrating that agriculture is part of the water solution, and not just another water user, farmers can secure a respected seat in discussions about local catchment management and gain support for their initiatives.

As droughts grow longer and rainfall becomes less predictable, ensuring water security isn’t just good farm management – it’s essential for the future of British agriculture.

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