In an open letter the FWR is calling for Regulators and Water Companies to provide the public with real-time water resources data, providing information on reservoir, river and groundwater levels for abstraction points and the drought position for each water resources zone in relation to their triggers for action in their drought management plan, all on one interactive map.

This will allow members of the public to be able see the current status of a water resource zone against the relevant water company's published drought plan criteria, in any region of the UK.

Effective public engagement is vital to supporting improved water resources and demand management. Increasing transparency through publicly accessible data around water resources and related decisions will be a key tool for supporting public engagement and rebuilding trust. This would help in programmes to reduce consumption and would also improve the understanding of the need for future sustainable water resources management. At present, there is no clear picture of the status of water resources from catchment to catchment, or why some areas are more affected than others. Whilst some water resource information can be found on company websites, it is normally several weeks out of date and hard for a member of the public to find.

By using the model of the Sewer Overflow Map, water resources information can be made easily accessible to the public. Crucially, the data needed to produce a water resources map is already collected by water companies, typically every 15 minutes. The availability of this data will make the development of a Water Resources Map much easier than the Sewer Overflow Map (which at the time did not have the relevant data routinely collected). Similarly to the Sewer Overflow Map, a Water Resources Map should be funded by water companies, on the direction of Ofwat and the Environment Agency.

The full letter is published on the IES website.