I READ with some concern the letter from Tom Mitchell in Wednesday’s edition of The Press in which his apparently simple solution is to build desalinantion plants to convert sea water.

Such plants will have a high capital cost to build but will also consume large amounts of energy which would have to be generated from nuclear, gas or coal-fired power stations.

The rainfall deficit is largely in the area south-east of a line from the Tees to the Bristol Channel; rainfall in York for 2011 was about 75 per cent of average.

The shortage of water is especially severe in the south-east, where demand is high due to a dense and rising population. This problem has been around for years and is indicative of the way in which governments and water companies have sat on their hands and not developed the infrastructure required to meet increasing demand.

In the short term there needs to be urgent action in the form of strict restrictions in the south-east on non-essential use of water, ie hosepipe bans and encouraging people to use water more wisely. In the medium term, more regional inter-connections need to be built to enable water to be transferred. Desalination should be the last resort.

David Randon, Blue Slates Close, Wheldrake.