Households in London could be forced to ration water “immediately” due to over-abstraction, over-use and wastage through leaking pipes.
James Wallace, chief executive of River Action, made the claim at a meeting with the Greater London Authority (GLA).
Thames Water, the main water supplier into the capital that was recently on the brink of collapse, also warned there needs to be a national change in how water is used.
Speaking at the meeting, Wallace said that many streams in the Chilterns, which feed water in north London, were permanently dry, while others were only at 25% of normal flow rates.
“This means that we are going to see rationing of water in north London imminently. We’re not talking 20, 30, or 40 years,” he said, quoted in the BBC.
"I appreciate it takes time to dig a reservoir but some of these things, like changing our abstraction requirements, reducing consumer demand, fixing leaky pipes, this is a national crisis and we need to address it that way."
Thames Water said in its annual report, published this week, that it lost over 600mln litres of water through leaks in its pipes.
Interim chief executive Cathryn Ross however told the GLA that a third of this quantity was “unmeasured consumer use” rather than loss through pipes.