July update from Chris Murray, Chair of Water Resources South East
This month we have seen a change in government and Ofwat publish its draft determinations on water companies’ 2025 to 2030 business plans.
The new government has said it will remove barriers to the development of new infrastructure which, given the challenges we face, can only be welcome.
I was pleased to see funding allocated for all Strategic Resource Options in our regional plan and I’m excited to see Southern Water’s Hampshire Water Recycling and Water Transfer scheme (explained in our recent blog) and Thames Water’s South East Strategic Reservoir Option (SESRO) scheme progressing into the consultation phase.
However, we must remember - in the early part of our plan in particular - demand reduction rather than supply increase, provides most of the water needed to secure supplies and there is significant uncertainty around its delivery.
All water companies have committed to increasing investment to halve leakage by 2050 - but reducing leakage is only part of the demand reduction picture.
The other essential element is reducing customer consumption, which is dependent on government policy interventions including the introduction of the mandatory water label by 2025, minimum standards for water-using products by 2030 and strengthened building regulations.
I have written to the Secretary of State to introduce WRSE, set out the actions we would like the new government to take and pave the way for future collaboration.
As I have said before, I believe we have a real problem in that UK society does not value water as highly as it should.
This is undoubtedly because we currently have seemingly unlimited access to clean and wholesome water supplies but there is a real danger that this will not continue to be the case unless all the measures set out in our regional plan come into play.
As consumers, awareness of our water consumption is vitally important in reducing demand, so I was surprised to see substantial cuts to smart metering programmes for the majority of WRSE companies.
Smart metering is a critical enabler to reducing demand, so I hope water companies and Ofwat can work together to ensure adequate funding is put in place to enable accelerated delivery across the region.
With a new government in place, I am hopeful we can continue to make progress; having a great regional plan is one thing but now we must turn that plan into action.
Without action, and sufficient funding for water company plans, we will not be able to provide safe and secure water supplies for the future, nor will we protect our precious environment, including the South East's iconic chalk streams.
Chris
