The government is looking at plans that will entail the construction of a massive water infrastructure system that could take water supplies from west to east.

The idea of the multi-billion project has been brought forward by the Environment Secretary who believes that a “national grid” of pipelines able to transfer water from areas with full water reservoirs to regions with less water resources could prevent events seen this summer, the driest for 50 years.

George Eustice is confident that the project could improve the interconnectivity between the country’s water companies.

A Defra spokesperson told ELN: “Inter-regional water transfers can play an important role in moving water from areas of the country with plentiful supplies to those with high demand.

“The resilience of our water supply has been strengthened by the action taken by government, regulators and the private sector, including water companies investing £469 million in additional resources like new reservoir projects and inter-regional water transfers.

“This has come on top of significant improvements we’ve seen already built in recent years by water companies.

“This is the driest summer in 50 years and water supplies remain resilient. We continue to crack down on leakage with tough targets and work closely with water companies and the Environment Agency to protect public supplies, the environment and critical sectors that depend on water, including farmers.”