A WORRYING report has revealed Sussex’s water supply will dwindle unless action is taking to combat climate change.

Southern Water has warned soaring temperatures, rising sea levels, and dry summers will drastically affect where it gets its water from.

And the firm warned the South East would be worst affected by water shortages if the national supply decreases.

Water resource manager Nicholas Price said Sussex and other southern counties would “feel the bite”.

“Environment Agency chief executive Sir James Bevan made a speech this spring where he spoke of the ‘jaws of death’ for water: climate change and population growth,” he said.

“Our analysis shows this is no exaggeration.

“The jaws of death are closing and when the teeth meet, it is this part of the country that will feel the bite.”

The report outlines three different scenarios for how much water will be available in the South East by 2050 and 2080.

In the worst-case scenario, known as the “consumptive world” scenario, increased demand from a growing population, new homes, and farmers will “materially reduce water resource availability”.

The scenario is based on a future where “market forces” drive Government policy rather than a focus on fighting climate change.

As summer temperatures soar by 3.1C by 2050, rainfall will decrease by a fifth in the summer months and the sea level will rise by a minimum of 26cm.

By 2080 temperatures are expected to increase by 8.1C in the summer and 5.2C in the winter.

“Milder and wetter winters and hotter and drier summers could be expected,” the report read.

“With increased consumer demand, industrial demand for freshwater resources may also grow.

“The effect will be to reduce water resource availability for the company.”

As populations in towns and cities increase, the amount of land where water can be captured from with fall.

This will “increase the risks of outage due to adverse water quality”, the report claims.

But it is not just an increase in population that will cause water shortages, according to Southern Water.

As sea levels rise, the amount of freshwater in rivers will fall as saltwater mixes with river water further upstream. Even in the best case scenario outlined in the report, available freshwater in rivers could decrease by up to 21 per cent.

And with a lack of rain in the summer months, the freshwater quality will worsen as rivers struggle to dilute pesticides.

“With a large decrease in summer rainfall expected for all future scenarios, there would be a decrease in the dilution capacity of rivers,” the report read.

“The potential risk of changes in water quality would be a major concern during summer, coinciding with the expected decrease in precipitation.”

Climate change will also spell disaster for a number of aquatic animals.

If the temperature rises by as little as 1.5C, at least 20 per cent of species in the South East’s waters could become extinct.

Rising sea levels will also push freshwater species further upstream, affecting vulnerable creatures’ habitats.

Species at particular risk include Atlantic salmon, water voles and European beavers.

Southern Water has pledged to spend £800 million over the next decade to tackle potential shortages.

This includes recycling water and building plants which can make seawater drinkable.

Water resource manager Mr Price said the firm would also cut leakages in half by 2050.

“Every drop humans take out from the environment means less for nature,” he said.

“Staying resilient is about behaviour change and looking after the resources we currently have as much as it is about us building new resources.

“We are asking our customers to use water wisely.”

A spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs said the Government was committed to delivering “clean and plentiful water”

“The UK is already leading the fight against climate change by delivering on our world-leading target of Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050,” she said.”

“But adapting to the inevitable changes in our climate is also vital.”