Action needed on water grants to increase resilience to droughts

irrigated food crops, ornamentals, or forestry nurseries.

However, the investment minimum needs to decrease for many members of the HTA to make it viable as these members want to implement reservoirs for selfsufficiency but do not need them at the current specified scale. If the necessary, scale and investment were reduced more businesses could reduce their reliance on the national water supply. The HTA is requesting that water companies and the Environmental Agency provide or support a funding program for horticultural businesses to enhance rainwater capture, construct reservoirs, recapture run-off, and use grey water. This would help reduce capital costs for these businesses.

The industry fundamentally needs to grow sustainably to meet the government’s tree planting targets, mitigate against climate change, improve local biodiversity, and continue to contribute to human health and wellbeing.

Additionally, the Environmental Improvement Plan sets out the government’s aim to increase the percentage of water storage used by the agriculture and horticulture sectors by 66% by 2050.

However, it is imperative that water companies and the Environment Agency work together to encourage consumers to reduce water use and increase rainwater capture so as to reduce mains reliance.