£8bn investment to avoid water shortage
Six companies including Southern Water and Portsmouth Water are joining forces
Last updated 19th Jan 2022
For the first time ever all water companies in the South East, including Portsmouth Water, have come together to plan for the avoidance of future shortfalls in water supply.
Portsmouth Water customers are now being invited to view the plan and have their say.
Through Water Resources South East (WRSE), Portsmouth Water, along with other water companies in the South East, have developed an emerging regional plan.
This sets out the action that could be needed to avoid a potential 1 billion litre per day shortfall in water supplies within the next 15 years.
The emerging regional plan looks at the South East as a whole and considers the future water needs of all customers, water users and the environment across the area and how they could be met.
The plan also tackles the environmental emergency facing the region’s waters. It considers how water companies could further reduce their reliance on sensitive sources, such as chalk rivers and groundwater, that could be vulnerable to climate change.
Water recycling, water transfers and dramatically reducing leakage, are just some of the solutions outlined in the plan.
Jim Barker, Head of Water Resources, Portsmouth Water, said: “The South East as a whole is under serious water stress. Ensuring that taps are kept running in the face of climate change and a growing population whilst at the same time protecting our environment, is a challenge which all water companies in the region are facing.
“By working together, we can help to address some of these challenges and ensure that everyone in the region, including Portsmouth Water customers, have the water they need both now and in the future. Now that the emerging regional plan has been published, we would like to invite Portsmouth Water customers to view the plan and have their say.”
To find out more about WRSE’s emerging regional plan and respond to the consultation click here.
The consultation is open until 14 March 2022.
What’s in the emerging plan?
Between 2025 and 2040 the emerging plan identifies £8 billion of investment:
• Region-wide leakage reduction and water efficiency activity to reduce the demand for
water
• Three new reservoirs in Havant, Hampshire; Blackstone, West Sussex and Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• A new transfer from Havant Thicket reservoir to Southampton
• Five water recycling schemes in Littlehampton, West Sussex; Havant, Hampshire;
Beckton, London; Peacehaven, East Sussex and Aylesford, Kent
• One desalination plant on the Sussex coast
• 200+ catchment and nature-based schemes in 25 catchments