英国政府正在研究调整水价政策，以应对日益加剧的供水短缺问题。环境署指出，英格兰四分之三的地区和整个威尔士正面临干旱状况，2700万人受到限水措施影响 1。根据预测，到2055年英格兰的日均水供应缺口可能达到50亿升 1。
现行水价制度中，大型工业用户的用水量越多价格反而越低，这被认为是导致水资源浪费的因素之一 1。政府改革的重点是调整定价机制以提高水的价值，特别是针对数据中心等高耗水产业 1。目前，数据中心每天使用660万升饮用水，按照政府规划到2030年这一数字可能增至1980万升 1。环境署水务主任海伦·韦克汉姆指出："水价如此低廉，导致其通常缺乏有效管理，企业往往发现用水越多成本越低" 1。
英格兰不足1%的企业用水量已超过1000万人的日常需求 1。绿色和平组织首席科学家道格·帕尔对现状提出批评，称"大企业获得廉价水供应，而普通民众却遭遇提价和限水处罚" 1。
The British government is examining reforms to water pricing structures as the country faces escalating supply crises, particularly in drought-affected regions.1 Three-quarters of England and all of Wales are in drought conditions, with 27 million people experiencing water restrictions.1 The Environment Agency has warned that England could face a daily water shortage of 5 billion liters by 2055.1
Current pricing mechanisms inadvertently encourage excessive consumption by large industrial users, as water costs decrease with higher usage volumes.1 The government is considering restructuring these tariffs to better reflect water scarcity, with particular attention to data centers and other high-consumption industries.1 Data centers currently consume 6.6 million liters of drinking water daily, a figure projected to rise to 19.8 million liters by 2030 under government expansion plans.1 Less than 1 percent of English businesses use more water than 1 million people consume in a day.1
Environment Agency water director Helen Wickham stated that "water is so cheap that it is usually not managed, because using more water actually costs less."1 Greenpeace chief scientist Doug Parr criticized the disparity: "Big business gets cheap water while ordinary people face price rises and water restrictions as punishment."1
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