Sustainable water management — using a figure

Question (4 marks): Using Figure 1 (a map of UK rainfall and population density), suggest two reasons why water management is a challenge in the UK.

Mark scheme (4): 2 × developed point (1 reason + 1 development with figure reference). Max 4.

• Rainfall is concentrated in the north-west (>1600 mm/yr in Snowdonia) [1] but population is concentrated in the south-east (>1000 people/km² in London) where rainfall is low (<600 mm in Essex) [1 dev].
• Climate change means drier summers in the south-east [1], increasing demand for inter-basin transfers (e.g. Kielder → Yorkshire) and reservoirs (Abingdon proposed 150 GL) [1 dev].
• Ageing Victorian infrastructure leaks ~3 billion litres/day [1], so even high-rainfall regions face supply stress [1 dev].
• Credit accurate map references and quantification.