Exploring Water Insecurity in England and Wales: The Future is Relational

Water insecurity is not often associated with England and Wales, a place infamous for its abundant rainfall. Existing research is limited and technocratic, naturalising water insecurity as an issue created solely by climate and population shifts. There is a striking gap in critical research, which is needed to re-politicise water insecurity in this context.

Social experiences are the focus of my exploration, alongside hidden political processes which I follow across three distinct studies. I start with a rigorous literature review on water poverty, which I frame as a socioeconomic form of water insecurity. I find that it is much more prevalent than widely acknowledged, and that financial governance structures increase the burden of debt on vulnerable households.

This review raises questions about how people who are not customers of water companies (i.e. those not living in conventional households) access water. This is the subject of my second study, which investigates the lived experiences of canal boat dwellers, and how they access water supplies. I use Sen’s capability approach to conceptualise the linkages between water resources and a flourishing life.

My final study considers the wider environmental aspects of water insecurity, as well as the effects of rapid sewer upgrading on customer bills. I focus on the political ecology of sewage discharges into rivers, and the rise in new water justice activism which emerged in response.

Taken together, these three studies begin to paint a picture of contemporary water insecurity in England and Wales, and open up a number of avenues for further research. My findings contribute to social theories of water and water governance in the Minority World. In the conclusions, I suggest what the future of hydro-social relations may look like in England and Wales, and how recognising the lived experiences of water insecurity can support greater security and justice for all.