The relationship between land use and surface water resources in the UK

Abstract

Land use and water resources are inextricably entwined. The need to protect the quantity and quality of water resources can impact potential land uses and land management practices, while water availability is a pre-requisite for land uses requiring irrigation. Land use and land management changes impact on water resources for example through changes in catchment yields, infiltration rates, dissolved organic carbon and nutrient transfers. While there is no absolute shortage of water resources across the UK as a whole, spatial and temporal variations already result in water stress across much of the south and east of England during dry summers. In the future, water stress is expected to become more widespread in response to population growth, increasing environmental protection and climate change. Surface water quality is reported to be improving at present, though there are doubts as to the adequacy of the monitoring coverage. Climate change is likely to adversely affect surface water quality, with less dilution in summer and more extreme rainfalls in winter leading to increased erosion and pollution. To conserve usable water resources, land uses which increase evapotranspiration or rapid runoff should be discouraged, particularly in the south and east, and there need to be continuing efforts to maintain good chemical water quality in rivers and groundwater. Water resource constraints will limit opportunities to use irrigation as a counter to climate change, and will influence where irrigated production can be located.