ITRC-MISTRAL is pleased to have played an important role in the National Infrastructure Commission’s (NIC) latest report,  Preparing for a drier future – England’s water infrastructure needs. This report assesses the options for ensuring stable water supplies even during droughts.

Without action by the water sector, there is a 1:4 chance that in future thousands of households will see their water supply cut for extended periods of time because of drought.

Using ITRC-MISTRAL’s innovative modelling – the National Infrastructure Model (NISMOD) – the NIC was able to build a better understanding of the scale of the challenge that England’s water supply sector would face in times of drought.  NIC applied NISMOD1 to assess policy options and to make recommendations to Government.

Being able to draw on ITRC-MISTRAL’s modelling, has given NIC valuable evidence upon which to base its policy analysis and recommendations.

In the report, NIC proposals include requiring the water industry to cut leakage rates by half by 2050, and giving water companies the right to implement compulsory water metering to help improve water efficiency.

More details of the methodology that ITRC-MISTRAL researchers used is explored in an Oxford Science Blog.