Private firms licensed to abstract 33trn litres of water, campaigners warn

PRIVATE companies have licences to take trillions of litres of water out of rivers, lakes and aquifers a year, campaigners have warned as pressure on resources grows. Environmental charity River Action is calling on the government today to review all abstraction licences and ensure a fully funded water resilience plan as Britain faces more frequent droughts and rising demand from a growing population and new data centres. Hosepipe bans are in place for 23 million customers, with half of England…