Irrigation rules may be reformed
PUBLISHED: 10:37 17 May 2008 | UPDATED: 08:25 28 March 2014
MAY 15, 2008: The Environment Agency may reform irrigation rules to allow farmers to take advantage
of climate change and abstract more water during wetter summer months.
Although summer licences are restrictive and expensive, a series of wet summers has prompted Environment Agency officials to believe that the system should be reformed to account for periods of high flow and low flow of water.
"The licensing system currently refers to seasonal abstraction," said Andy Turner, the agency's water resources strategy manager. "I would like to approach it differently - allowing summer abstraction under strict conditions if water flow is high enough."
Many parts of the country were water-stressed and over-abstracted, said Mr Turner during a presentation to a UK Irrigation Association seminar in Peterborough. A more efficient use of existing resources was vital.