Non-public water supplies

What is public vs. non-public water supply?

Let’s start with the easy part - public water supplies.  This is water abstracted from rivers, reservoirs or underground aquifers by water companies.  In the case of Water Resources West that means United Utilities, Severn Trent, Hafren Dyfrdwy, Dŵr Cymru and  South Staffs Water.  That water is then supplied to domestic, commercial and industrial customers through the water company pipe network.

Non-public water supply (non-PWS) is all of the other water used.  Many sectors other than water companies hold licences to abstract water from the environment, and they use it for farming, industry, energy production, recreation etc. 

Planning for the future

Water Resources West has been asked to plan for all future water use, by all sectors across our region.

Our job is to work out what water is currently being used by these sectors, and how much more water they are likely to need in the future.

By combining water use by water companies and other abstractors we can work out the total volume of water that is needed – now and in the future – and compare this total to what is actually available from the rivers and groundwaters in our area.

These predictions are important because water availability is being affected by climate change.  In general, we expect to see wetter winters and warmer, drier summers; and this will reduce the quantity of water available to abstract in the summer when river flows and groundwater levels are low.

We want to work with all abstractors to ensure that there is enough water for everyone in the future.  We’re currently working closely with the water companies, but we’d like to get more involvement from the other sectors.

The views of non-public water supply abstractors we’ve collated so far

In November 2022, Water Resources West (WRW) released the results of a new survey to understand the water resources issues faced by businesses with water abstraction licences. This is the first ever survey of its kind and highlights some real issues, but also a desire from abstractors to work together locally to improve water resources.

Until now, there has been no comprehensive survey to inform water resources planning for those sectors.  Highlights from the survey show:

The survey, of 2,500 non-public water supply abstractors, reveals that:

• One third of abstractors say their business is already constrained  by the amount of water they can abstract

• Nearly 40% of abstractors were affected by drought last year

• Three-quarters of businesses would experience a major or significant impact if their abstraction licence was reduced by 25%

• 94% of abstractors think their water use will increase by 2050

• Only 1% of abstractors are currently part of a local abstractors group, but over two-thirds of abstractors show an interest in working with others

Full details of the survey report can be found here.

Get involved

Over two thirds of abstractors show an interest in working with others.

To register your interest in further updates and the potential for local engagement either fill in the form on the right or go to our ‘get involved’ page here.