Last few places left.
Reserve a spot now or miss a facinating evening.
THE CITY WATER DEBATE – 2026
Wednesday 18 March 2026, 5.30 for 6.00pm
Bakers’ Hall, Harp Lane, London EC3R 6DP
WATER IN UK – TOO MUCH DEMAND, TOO LITTLE SUPPLY
The UK is running out of water. Population and economic growth combined with climate change mean that consumption is increasingly outstripping supply. We are already abstracting more water from the environment than is sustainable. In England alone the Environment Agency has estimated that there will be shortfall of five billion litres a day (or 35% of current supply) by 2050.
To meet this shortfall the government projects major reductions in per capita consumption, increased efficiency in the use of water across all sectors, reduced leakage and a significant programme of new reservoirs. Are these steps deliverable? Have we the mechanisms to make them happen?
To discuss the above we welcome the following speakers:
Alan Lovell (Chair, Environment Agency)
Bukky Bird (Group Sustainability Director, Barratt Redrow)
Ruth Jefferson (Chief Executive, Wessex Water)
Paul Leinster (Chair, Water Resources East)
Nicci Russell (Chief Executive, Waterwise)
The event, which will be conducted under the Chatham House rule, is free and by invitation only. Spaces are limited to 100. After the speakers’ presentations, there will be a Q&A session followed by a reception from 7.45 to 9.00pm.
To obtain a ticket please click the following EVENTBRITE Link and ‘Reserve a Spot’
THE CITY WATER DEBATE – 2026 Tickets, Wed, Mar 18, 2026 at 5:30 PM | Eventbrite
If you have any questions, please email our Clerk, Chris Millett (clerk@waterconservators.org) or Liveryman Tom Morton (tom@dms-uk.co.uk).
Speaker Biographies.
Alan Lovell has been Chair of the Environment Agency since September 2022. He is also a Non-Executive Director of SIG plc and a Lay Canon of Winchester Cathedral. His executive career included time as a Chief Executive of six companies, including Infinis, Jarvis, Costain and Dunlop Slazenger. He was also Chair of the Consumer Council for Water for four years and has chaired the University of Winchester and the Mary Rose Trust.
Bukky Bird is Group Sustainability Director at Barratt Redrow and is also a Non-Executive Director of the British Standards Institution. With a background in engineering and environmental design, she has previously held leadership roles at Tesco and WSP, as well as on the Board of Notting Hill Housing Association.
Ruth Jefferson became Chief Executive of Wessex Water in October 2024. She has worked for Wessex Water since 2016 after a legal career in London and Bristol, specialising in competition law. Ruth has held senior roles including Chief Compliance Officer and Group General Counsel, and has extensive experience in managing compliance, risk and governance.
Dr Paul Leinster CBE has over 40 years of practical experience in environmental management, science, policy and regulation. He is Chair of Water Resources East, Cambridge Water Scarcity Group, Bedfordshire Local Nature Partnership, the Upper and Bedford Ouse Catchment Partnership and a Board Member of the Office of Environmental Protection. From 2008 to 2015 he was Chief Executive of the Environment Agency having joined the EA in 1998. Prior to this he worked for more than 20 years in the private sector. Since 2015 Paul has spent time as Professor of Environmental Assessment at Cranfield University, a Member of the Government’s Natural Capital Committee and a Board Member of Flood Re.
Nicci Russell is a UK expert on water efficiency, and TEDx speaker. She is CEO of Waterwise, the UK’s not-for-profit campaigning organisation on water efficiency – and Honorary Fellow of CIWEM and Fellow of the Institute of Water. Nicci has chaired Groups for Ministers and is a regular talking head on water efficiency. She has won awards from British Water and Future Water Association for her work on water efficiency and equity, diversity and inclusion. Nicci has been Special Adviser at Defra and Director at Ofwat.