[roey2009]

Water treatment. Like in Israel. Am aware that Israel is a wealthy country, but isn't the UK the same?

[zeristor]

One wouldn’t use desalination water to water crops, it wouldn’t be economically viable.

I believe the Beckton Desalination plant has been in the process of being commissioned for 12 years or so for some reason:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_Gateway_Water_Treatment...

However it does seem to use a lot of electricity, which currently isn’t cheap. Something to do with the price of gas, and indeed reduced water levels for many power stations impinging on their running.