Britain’s Thirsty Future – Public Attitudes to New Water Resources

By Jordan Rowse, Water Sector Lead, Copper Consultancy

The summer of 2026 may ultimately be remembered as a turning point in Britain's relationship with water. Across England and Wales, drought ceased to be an abstract future risk and became a visible reality, affecting communities, businesses and the daily lives of millions of people. Record-low rainfall, prolonged periods of exceptional heat and widespread drought conditions pushed water security firmly into the national spotlight, moving it from the pages of policy documents into mainstream public debate.

For those of us working in and around the water sector, many of the challenges exposed this summer were far from unexpected. Climate change, population growth and increasing pressure on existing resources have long pointed towards the need for significant investment in new water infrastructure. Reservoirs, water transfers, water recycling schemes and desalination plants have all featured prominently in plans designed to secure future supplies. What has perhaps been less certain is how the public views the scale of action required to address these challenges.

That question sits at the heart of Copper Consultancy's latest report, Britain's Thirsty Future: Public Attitudes to New Water Resources, published at the International Water Congress in Glasgow in October. The research suggests that public opinion may have shifted more significantly than many within the sector realise. As drought has become more visible, concern about the country's future water security has grown. Crucially, however, so too has support for the infrastructure and investment needed to improve resilience.

The findings suggest that the public increasingly recognises what the water sector has understood for some time: Britain cannot continue to respond to water scarcity through a cycle of drought, restrictions, emergency responses and delayed investment. Instead, there is growing acceptance that long-term resilience requires proactive action and a broader portfolio of solutions. From reservoirs and strategic water transfers to recycling and desalination, support for new water resources is stronger than many would assume.

This matters because it potentially marks a fundamental change in the debate surrounding water infrastructure. Historically, much of the conversation has focused on establishing the case for investment. The challenge was often seen as persuading people that action was necessary in the first place. Today, that challenge appears to be evolving. Increasingly, the public understands the problem. It recognises the risks posed by climate change and future water shortages and accepts that maintaining the status quo is not sustainable.

As a result, the key question facing the sector is no longer simply whether Britain needs to strengthen its water resilience. Instead, the focus is shifting towards how that resilience can be delivered.

While this may seem like a subtle distinction, it has important implications for everyone involved in planning, developing and communicating major infrastructure projects. National support for investment creates a mandate for action, but infrastructure is never delivered at a national level. Reservoirs, recycling facilities and transfer schemes are ultimately built in specific locations, with impacts that are felt by individual communities and environments.

This is where the findings from our research are particularly interesting. Although there appears to be broad public support for improving water resilience, that support should not be mistaken for automatic consent. People may accept the need for new infrastructure, but they still expect to be involved in discussions about how and where it is delivered. They want to understand why particular solutions have been selected, what alternatives have been considered, how environmental impacts will be managed and what benefits projects will bring to the places that host them. In other words, public support for the principle of investment does not remove the need to build trust in individual projects. If anything, it elevates its importance.

For water companies, contractors and policymakers, this represents both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge lies in recognising that technical and engineering solutions alone are unlikely to be enough. The opportunity comes from the fact that communities are increasingly entering these conversations with an understanding of the wider problem and a willingness to engage with potential solutions.

This is where the concept of societal licence becomes critical. Infrastructure projects have always required planning consent and regulatory approval, but increasingly they also require something less tangible: public confidence. Communities want reassurance that decisions are being made transparently, that they are being listened to and that projects are being developed with a genuine understanding of local concerns and priorities.

The organisations that succeed in delivering major water infrastructure over the coming decade will be those that recognise engagement is not simply a statutory process to be completed. It is a strategic activity that helps build understanding, improve proposals and develop the trust needed to secure long-term support. The most successful projects will be those that move beyond consultation and instead create meaningful dialogue with the people they affect.

For communicators and engagement professionals, this presents an important moment. As the water sector embarks on one of the largest periods of investment seen for generations, there is a growing need to bridge the gap between national policy ambitions and local realities. Communities need clear, transparent conversations about both the challenges Britain faces and the solutions being proposed to address them. Building resilience is not just an engineering challenge; it is a communications and engagement challenge too.

Perhaps the most encouraging finding from our research is that the public appears ready for that conversation. The evidence suggests people understand the scale of the challenge, support action and increasingly expect progress. In many respects, the argument for greater investment in water resilience has already been won. The challenge now is transforming that support into delivery. Doing so will require more than infrastructure plans and regulatory approvals. It will require trust, confidence and consensus. The organisations that recognise this early, and invest in building societal licence alongside physical infrastructure, will be best placed to deliver the solutions Britain needs.

The question facing the sector is no longer whether we need new water resources, it’s whether we can build the public confidence necessary to get them consented, constructed and turned into a reality.

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