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Your Water, Your Say – Future Plans Published

Customers are being asked to give their views on South East Water’s strategy for managing water resources over the next 25 years.

The company has published its Draft Water Resources Management Plan which sets out what it needs to do, and by when, to secure future water supplies from 2010 - 2035. Highlights of the future strategy include proposals for:

• A new winter storage reservoir at Clay Hill, near Ringmer, East Sussex, by 2017
• A new winter storage reservoir at Broad Oak, near Canterbury, by 2024
• Compulsory metering of 90% of customers by 2020
• Improving eight existing underground water sources
• Developing four new underground water sources
• Building two new strategic pipelines across Sussex and Kent
• Reducing leakage and adopting private customer supply pipes

South East Water, which provides drinking water to around 2.1 million customers across Kent, Sussex, and parts of north Hampshire, Berkshire and Surrey, is now asking customers and stakeholders for their views on its draft plan.

Paul Seeley, Asset Director at South East Water said: “New housing developments, increased population and climate change are all factors affecting the future supply of water in the South East of England, which has been designated as an area of ‘serious water stress’ by the Environment Agency.

“Faced with those stark facts our draft plan shows we will need up to an extra 135 million litres of available water by 2035 every day to meet demand. We have clear obligations to deliver a secure supply of water to both existing and future customers, so it is imperative we act now to secure them.

“However, our plan also shows that demand management initiatives such as leakage, metering and water efficiency are still not enough on their own to give us the extra water we will need – new water resources are also required, which is why we are proposing two strategic reservoirs in the south east.

“In facing the many challenges to provide a reliable water supply to both our existing and future customers, we have already taken into account our customers’ views about the affordability of water and what they consider should be our priorities to protect their round-the-clock water supplies.

“As a result, our Draft Water Resources Management Plan sets out the actions that we need to take to maintain the fine balance between making sure there is enough water for both people and the wider environment, and at an acceptable cost too.

“We now want to share these proposals with our customers and the many interested parties to ensure that any views that they have can be properly considered and taken into account in the final plan, which is expected to be published in Summer 2009.”

Water companies have for many years produced water resource plans for its regulators and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), but this is the first time they are also opened up for public consultation. A series of public exhibitions will be held throughout June 2008 to give customers a further chance to comment on the plan. Details of these are on www.southeastwater.co.uk and will be publicised in due course.

The full Draft Water Resources Management Plan and appendices, a non-technical summary and supporting Environmental Report, can be viewed on the South East Water website at www.southeastwater.uk. For customers who do not have internet access and would like to review the full documents, copies will be placed at South East Water’s principal offices for people to review the documents during office hours. Alternatively a summary is available by calling South East Water’s customer service department on 08458 50 60 60.

Comments on the plan can be made to Defra via the email address water.resources@defra.gsi.gov.uk or via post to The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Water Supply and Regulation Division, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Area 2C, Ergon House, Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2AL. Customers have until 1 August 2008 to comment on South East Water’s plans for the future.