WRSE joins Havant Thicket reservoir ground-breaking ceremony

Lee Dance, WRSE Organisational Director, was on hand for a landmark day for the Havant Thicket reservoir scheme in Hampshire – the first new reservoir in the UK for 30 years. This environmentally-led project will secure future regional water supplies for customers, while helping protect rare and sensitive chalk streams.

13 September 2024 saw a special event take place at the reservoir site near Havant, to officially break ground ahead of the main construction phase getting underway in the spring.

The reservoir is being built and will be operated by Portsmouth Water, to provide up to 21 million litres of water a day during drought to Southern Water. This will enable Southern to reduce what it takes from the Test and Itchen rivers, with the scheme ultimately being funded from Southern Water drinking water customer bills.

Portsmouth Water CEO Bob Taylor and his Southern Water counterpart Lawrence Gosden were joined by Ofwat Chair Iain Coucher, Simon Moody, Area Manager for the Environment Agency, and local school children for the ground-breaking ceremony.

Other attendees at the event included senior representatives from local councils, as well as contacts from local environmental and community groups.

WRSE’s Lee Dance commented: “Havant Thicket reservoir is a key part of our regional water resources plan for South East England, as well as Portsmouth Water and Southern Water’s long-term plans to keep taps and rivers flowing.

"It’s a fantastic example of collaboration and innovation to deliver resilient future water supplies for customers and at the same time safeguard and improve the environment.”

Lee added:  “I was honoured to be present at the ground-breaking event, marking a major milestone for a scheme that’s set to be the first of a series of new strategic water resources infrastructure projects that will be delivered in the years ahead, both in our region and across the rest of England.”

Under the already approved scheme, Havant Thicket Reservoir could provide as much as 21 million litres of water a day to Southern Water, when needed.

However, that could rise to over 110 million litres daily through proposals to supplement the reservoir with purified recycled water.

These are known as the Hampshire Water Transfer & Water Recycling Project and are subject to regulatory approval and planning permission being granted.