Here's where two new reservoirs could be built in the UK

Water consumption has been rising for years (Picture: Phil Taylor/SWNS)

Two new reservoirs will be built in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire by 2036 and 2040,the first to be built in England for more than 30 years.

To do this,ministers are ‘slashing red tape’ by making the call to open reservoirs up to the government,rather than local councils.

Water companies will also open reservoirs in Oxfordshire,Somerset,Suffolk,Kent and East Sussex by 2050.

Water Minister Emma Hardy said today: ‘We have a problem in our country where we’re not going to have all of the drinking water that we need by the mid-2030s because we simply haven’t built the reservoirs required.’

She added: ‘So what we’re doing is we’re taking control of building the reservoirs from the local planning authorities,putting that power into the hands of the Secretary of State so he can power through and deliver these.

‘Because if we don’t,by the 2030s,we’re going to be looking at water rationing like we have in the Mediterranean,and that’s unacceptable.’

Water companies hope to open new reservoirs by 2050 (Picture: Metro)

The driest spring in years has reduced reservoir levels up and down the UK (Picture: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)

Hardy said that to shore up water reserves to stop this,the government is investing £104billion in the water sector – a sum that won’t impact bills.

She said: ‘This will help to reduce leaks from pipes by up to 17%,so that’s another really important action that’s needed just to make sure that everybody has the water that they need,because it’s not just about building homes as well.

‘We need water for growth – there are projects up and down the country where businesses are crying out for extra water that they need to make sure that they can get on with growing our economy,so this is a really important announcement and it’s a beautiful win for nature as well.’

How much water people use a day has increased in recent years,from 141 litres in 2017 to 144 litres in 2022,about four wheelie bins worth of water.

Increasingly warm weather has worsened water supplies. The North West and North East both saw their driest start to a year since 1929 this year,with the UK seeing 630 hours of sunshine in spring.

Water bosses have warned that rationing might be needed this summer amid drought fears,something more likely as climate change heats up the planet.

Experts say that the UK will run out of drinking water by 2040 if nothing is done (Picture: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)

The government will override local council decisions to ensure the reservoirs are built (Picture: Phil Taylor/SWNS)

A study found in 2023 that seven regions will see ‘severe’ water shortages by 2030 because of spiralling water consumption and hot,dry weather.

They include the West Midlands,London,the South West,the East Midlands,the East of England,and the South East.

By 2040 – the year that the UK is expected to run out of drinking water – the number of seriously water-short regions will rise to 12 out of 17.