This is already beginning to happen in parts of both India and China, where farmers are learning how to measure the water they pump, how to use it to greatest effect and thus how to sustain aquifer levels.

ECONOMIST: Water

The report also suggests that Mr Byatt could use the Competition Act, which comes into effect next March, to force water companies to sell unused rights to extract water.

ECONOMIST: Water: Drop by drop | The

The law came into effect on January 1, after a three-year campaign to reduce waste and encourage tap water use.

BBC: Concord, Massachusetts bans sale of small water bottles