§ Mr. Spenceasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the daily consumption of water by industry, including agriculture, domestic consumers and others in England and the supply resources available to meet the demand and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Denis HowellThe latest available statistics of the daily consumption of water in England are those for 1972:
Thousand cubic metres per day Public water supply Metered consumption (primarily non-domestic) 4,384 Unmetered consumption (primarily domestic) 8,622 Direct abstractions Industrial consumption (well over 80 per cent. returned without significant change in quality) 21,072 Agricultural consumption 153 Water supply 230 In total, resources are sufficient to meet the demand, but local deficiencies occur. The Water Resources Board examined a number of strategies for the development 377W of water resources to the year 2001, and these are now being considered by the National Water Council and the water authorities.