Britain's Water System: A Tale of Leaks, a Neglected Network and Climate Change

A parched Greenwich Park during London's heat wave last August.

Photographer: Jose Sarmento Matos/Bloomberg

From gardens to farms, the UK's way of life is inextricably linked to rain. Now, it risks becoming a cautionary tale of how a developed country can squander its most important resource.

Olivia Rudgard and

Irina Anghel

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It's approaching midnight on a leafy, residential street in southeast London, and Stewart Knowles is listening for water. Bent sideways, with a focused expression, he leans his head on a stick, like a doctor with a giant stethoscope, detecting the telltale wish-washing noise that suggests a pipe is leaking. "I’ve always described it as like a shell when you put it to your ear," he says.

Knowles manages a team of London water utility workers who solve drippy mysteries in the city's underground pipes and tunnels. His employer, Thames Water, knows how much water should be used by its customers in each area. When too-high amounts are consumed, his team investigates, triangulating the exact location where water is escaping before seeking permission from the council to dig up a road and fix the leak.