---
title: "Jersey faces 8.6m litre water deficit by 2035, warns utility"
url: https://www.nsfw.info/jersey-water-deficit-2035-drought-warning/
published: 2026-10-07T10:00:59+00:00
modified: 2026-10-07T10:00:59+00:00
author: "Chief Editor"
categories: ["News"]
image: https://www.nsfw.info/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/jersey-water-deficit-2035-drought-warning-1024x572.webp
summary: "Jersey Water warns summer demand hit a 20-year high and a worst-case drought could leave the island 8.6 million litres short per year by 2035."
publisher: NSFW (https://www.nsfw.info)
---

# Jersey faces 8.6m litre water deficit by 2035, warns utility

**In brief:** Jersey Water’s head of water resilience is warning that demand this summer has been among the highest in 20 years, and that a worst-case drought scenario could leave the island facing a water deficit of up to 8.6 million litres per year by 2035. The company is urging islanders to adopt small, repeatable habits now, while committing to major infrastructure investment including a 50% expansion of its desalination plant.

## A precious and finite resource

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the British love talking about the weather. In Jersey, that conversation has had plenty of material this year, from storms to droughts. But Mark Bowden, head of water resilience and emergency planning at Jersey Water, wants islanders to move beyond the small talk and start thinking seriously about what all that meteorological drama means for the taps in their homes.

Speaking to the Jersey Evening Post, Bowden said water use and behaviours in society have changed, and that demand over the summer had been “some of the highest we have seen in the past 20 years”, driven by extreme heat. He acknowledged that people naturally use more water when it is warm and dry, but stressed that the extra use places real pressure on the island’s water system.

The concern is not just about hot summers in isolation. “If we had a dry winter immediately after a dry summer, there would be a real risk of shortages,” Bowden said, noting that reservoirs normally recharge during winter rainfall. With summers expected to get drier and hotter, and rainfall patterns becoming increasingly uncertain, that recharge can no longer be taken for granted.

## The numbers behind the warning

Jersey Water’s latest Water Resources and Drought Management Plan sets out the scale of the challenge. In a worst-case drought scenario, the island could face a water deficit of up to 8.6 million litres per year by 2035. Bowden was quick to note that this is a worst-case figure, but the company is planning and investing on the basis that it could happen.

Currently, every person in Jersey uses an average of 116 litres of water per day. To put that in perspective, Bowden pointed out that a power shower uses 15 litres or more per minute. Cape Town, which recognised in 2017 that it was in danger of running out of water, drove consumption down to around eight litres per person per day in some cases. Bowden was clear that such extreme cuts are not on the agenda for Jersey, but the comparison illustrates just how much headroom there is for reduction.

The maths of collective action is straightforward: if every islander saved just ten litres a day, the overall saving would be one million litres per day. “That can be achieved through those simple behaviours,” Bowden said, “such as turning off taps and reducing the length of our showers.”

## Investment and infrastructure

Jersey Water is not simply asking islanders to do the heavy lifting. The company has committed to a significant upgrade of its desalination plant at La Rosière, parts of which are more than 50 years old. The upgrade will increase the maximum output of the site by 50%, making it more reliable as a backup resource during dry periods.

On the demand side, the company is investing in leak detection and repair technologies to find and fix leaks more quickly. Bowden said Jersey Water already has “by far the best” leakage record of any water company in the British Isles, supported by a dedicated leak detection team and a metering system that monitors flow across the entire island. Acoustic instruments are also used to locate problems on the network.

Water quality is another priority. Bowden said Jersey water is “among the best water available” and that levels of PFAS, a group of chemicals that have attracted concern elsewhere, are substantially below standards set by the World Health Organization and the UK government’s Drinking Water Inspectorate. The company is running pilot tests on PFAS treatment technology in case the island tightens its water quality standards in future.

Over the next five years, Jersey Water has three stated objectives: trusted water quality, sufficient supply under any conditions, and resilience to shocks and stresses. Bowden described climate change as “the biggest challenge of our generation” and referenced Storm Ciarán and Storm Goretti as examples of occasions when the island pulled together collectively, arguing that the same collective spirit is needed for the longer-term challenge of water resilience.

## The NSFW Perspective

There is something refreshing about a utility company that comes to the public not with a guilt trip or a government mandate, but with a straightforward ask: turn off the tap while you brush your teeth, and knock a minute off your shower. No new quango, no consultancy fees, no 400-page strategy document with a glossy cover. Just common sense, delivered plainly.

Jersey is a small island with finite resources, and water is one of them. The fact that demand this summer hit a 20-year high should concentrate minds. The desalination plant upgrade and the leak detection investment suggest Jersey Water is putting its money where its mouth is, which is more than can be said for some organisations that prefer to lecture rather than act.

The Cape Town comparison is a useful one. That city waited until it was staring down the barrel of “Day Zero” before taking action. Jersey has the advantage of early warning and a water company that appears to be taking the long view. Whether islanders will embrace the habit of treating water as precious before a crisis forces the issue is, of course, another matter entirely. Human nature being what it is, the power shower will probably keep running until someone turns off the hot water for good.

*Source: [Jersey Evening Post](https://jerseyeveningpost.com/business/2026/10/07/we-have-to-view-water-as-a-precious-and-finite-resource)*