The Government Office for Science warned in one of their future scenarios that London will suffer "high water stress":

By 2035, London is suffering high water stress and the Strategic Spatial Planning Authority begins construction of a 750 hectare reservoir on the site of a former airport. Flying is now a severely reduced activity and after considering whether to build another airport on the Isle of Dogs... ("Land Use Futures", page 288)

Thames Water, has already informed their eastend customers about potential future difficulties in water supply (see letter above):

London normally has plenty of water but during droughts we could potentially face a situation where people need to use more water than we can provide.

This new source (water treatment works in Newham) is vital at a time when London faces a growing population, the effects of climate change and increasing levels of water usage.

On their website, Thames Water make more worrying statements:

London is classed by the Environment Agency as 'seriously water stressed'. This is because the region's large population means that the amount of rainfall per head of population is very low. London actually receives less rainfall than Rome, Istanbul, Dallas or Sydney.

Pressure on water resources will continue to grow in the future. Another 700,000 people are forecast to be living in London by 2021, and climate change will increase the likelihood of longer, hotter summers.

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