Our work

What we do

Background to regional water resources planning

In its 25-year environment plan for England, the Government pledged that we would be the first generation to leave the environment in a better condition than we found it. To help meet the pledge to improve resilience to drought and minimise interruption to water supplies, the Environment Agency has led the development of a national water resources framework, in collaboration with Ofwat, the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), Defra, as well as a wide range of stakeholders (industry representatives, water users, environmental NGOs, government and regulators from England and Wales). While the National Framework applies to England only, the Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales are representing Welsh interests into this due to the cross-border interdependencies of water management.

The national framework is part of the water resources planning cycle. It sets the challenge for regional groups such as WRW to work collaboratively to develop ambitious regional water resources plans that provide resilient and efficient water supplies into the future and that have environmental benefits

Our regional group 

Water Resources West is a group of abstractors, their representatives and their regulators. We are working together to ensure the sustainability of water resources, considering wider societal needs, environmental improvement and working across sectors. WRW is currently developing a regional water resources plan covering catchment areas in the north-west of England, the Midlands and the cross-border catchments with Wales. As a group we aim to build a long-term, multi-sector adaptive plan that reflects the needs and characteristics of our diverse region. The plan will cover the period from 2025 to 2085, ensuring the right long-term focus.  

Our shared vision is that by working together regionally and nationally across all sectors, we will have a joined-up view of the actions that are needed now, for a sustainable future. Working collaboratively will increase the resilience of water supplies, protect and improve the environment and drive efficiency, providing value for customers. 

Regional planning gives water companies the opportunity to look beyond their water resources zones and meet a broader range of needs across a wide area. Similarly, it gives other abstractors the opportunity to include their needs in a broader plan and provides the potential to access more cost-effective or resilient joint water supply options in the future.  

However, resilient water supplies can involve significant infrastructure which may take a number of years to develop and brings benefits for multiple generations. Therefore, our planning needs to consider what the region will look like over decades to come.  

Water faces severe and often conflicting pressures that are more urgent as a result climate change, increasing environmental ambitions, population growth and changes in the way people use water. It is important to understand the scale of the challenge we face now and careful planning for that challenge is critical.  

Climate change

Climate change is a prominent focus within government policy, public consciousness and the news. The risks of a changing climate and the opportunities for action are under constant scrutiny.

The future climate will remain uncertain and our plans will need to ensure water supplies are resilient to many different weather patterns that we might experience in the future. We also need to act responsibly by reducing carbon emissions. Our plans will be developed in the context of the UK water industry’s goal to achieve net zero carbon emissions for the sector by 2030. We will also support the decarbonisation of the power sector. 

Population growth

Another important factor is our region’s growing population and the location of new homes. This will act to increase demand for water, although this will display itself differently in different areas. We estimate that the population of the WRW region will grow by 2.4 million by 2050.

During 2020, COVID-19 has resulted in significant changes in the pattern of water use in homes and businesses and there is uncertainty about its longer term implications. We’re part of wider industry research to assess the impacts of COVID-19 and implications for future patterns of water demand. To address this uncertainty, we will explore a number of demand scenarios in our plan.

Types of new property (for example, houses or flats) will influence the volume of water needed, as will building standards. We will work with local authorities to account for local and regional growth aspirations including for new garden communities. We also advocate ambitious water efficiency in new builds and encourage water needs to be considered at early stages of the planning process.

Economic growth

Our region has a dynamic and diverse set of businesses. Many have ambitions for growth, and local and national governments are working to support this. Businesses need secure foundations in which to flourish and a secure water supply is fundamental. Some sectors rely on public water supplies, while others abstract directly from the environment. Our regional plan will account for growth, including the significant Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine strategies.

We are planning for the different ways this may have an effect on water supplies and how they are used. Some business use is similar to every day domestic usage, while others, such as the chemicals, paper and pulp industries, rely on a consistent water supply that if interrupted can stop production completely. Agricultural demand for irrigation water varies according to the season and the weather. We need to shape an understanding of these different needs to ensure sufficient water is available to support economic growth.

We are engaging with a multitude of non-public water supply sectors to better understand their needs. We are also looking for opportunities to cross-sector solutions which can be implemented in our plan. For example, our work with the energy sector indicates potential for increased freshwater usage for carbon capture and storage and the move to a hydrogen economy. This transition to a decarbonised energy system will initially be focussed on industrial clusters in the UK. The leading cluster project is HyNet in the North West. Around 12 Ml/d may be needed for this scheme by the end of the decade. The position of agriculture as the sector with the largest projected increase in non-public water demand may be overtaken by energy in the next 10 years.

Water is needed for the hydrogen economy and the UK’s transition to net zero energy.   

We are always looking to form new links with stakeholders which can help us widen our impact. If you are an abstractor and are interested in working with us, please let us know here. 

Environmental considerations

Our region is home to a number of internationally important species and habitats. Iconic landscapes and habitats also bring recreation and tourism benefits to the region. Making sure we have the right flow and water levels in water bodies across the region, is an essential part of supporting a healthy environment.

Water Resources West’s members are taking action to improve the environment. Over recent years, there have been significant programmes of changing abstractions to protect the environment.

Sandstone in central and north west England is an important source of groundwater, and it also interacts with surface water. There is a risk of increased groundwater abstraction reducing flows in local rivers, even if this water is currently licenced for use. We are committed to ensure the volumes of water taken from our groundwater is at sustainable levels, now and into the future. This will support the ecology of the connected rivers and also ensure the resilience of the groundwater for secure water supplies in future drought events.

There are many examples of environmental improvements we have already implemented across the region, including in the cross-border catchments into Wales. The potential for future additional changes to improve the environment across the region is actively being considered via our Environmental Destination work.

We are engaging with catchment partnerships and other stakeholders to shape our Environmental Destination. We are working with our partners and stakeholders to identify opportunities for environmental benefit in cost-effective ways. We will consider the evidence for, and affordability of, environmental improvements through all the stages of our plan development. However, environmental investigations often take several years to gather evidence in local catchments. Hence, our teams are considering evidence from a range of ongoing studies, analysing scenario data developed by the Environment Agency for England and working with the State of Natural Resources Report (SoNaRR) and Area Statements in Wales.  We have also consulted with stakeholders in the first few catchments we are currently prioritising for action: 

• England: Idle, Worcestershire Middle Severn and Wyre 

• Wales: Dee, Severn Uplands, South East Wales

This is needed to understand the specific issues in these catchments and to design bespoke solutions which can deliver the most benefit, where it is needed most. 

Beyond this, our work to identify and prioritise other catchments according to the pressures they face continues. As our environmental destination is a long-term plan for improving the environment, we will tackle the multitude of catchments requiring interventions in stages. 

Amenity and recreation

Waterbodies within the region have a long history of use for recreation and they are an important amenity. Our region also contains important historic and cultural environments, adding to wellbeing of society. Our regional water resources plan is being developed in the context of recreation and amenity, historic and cultural assets and opportunities for wellbeing

Amenity is defined as something that can generate pleasure or aesthetic appreciation. For example, healthy water bodies can increase property values, increase tourist influx and contribute to local economic growth. Some 19 million tourists visit the Lake District spending £1.4bn in a year.

Boating, canoeing and wild swimming are popular activities enjoyed by many residents and tourists in our region. We have a multitude of rivers and lakes where such activities can be undertaken and we are striving to improve water quality further to create more bathing waters around our region. Angling is another very popular sport, bringing considerable revenue for private river owners and is an important business for some country estates..

Moreover, we recognise the benefit of footpaths, cycle ways and green spaces near rivers and around lakes and reservoirs, to promote walking, cycling and other activities which communities and tourists can enjoy. Connecting to nature and the water environment holds an intrinsic value for both physical and mental wellbeing. Hence, we want our plan to include options that can bring such benefits to our region.

Water transfers

The potential to share water between different parts of the UK through water transfers must also be considered. A number of studies have shown that more interconnection of water supplies can bring benefits. The south and east of England is facing particularly acute pressures on its water resources over the coming decades. The north and west have been identified in studies as having potential sources of water for transfer to the south-east. Our major rivers and inland water ways help as they are a ‘blue green corridor’ for these transfers. New sources of water in our region are generally more cost effective than new sources in the south-east. Therefore, transfers bring opportunities for investment and associated benefits in the west.

When considering transfers, we are evaluating the risks and opportunities for the source areas as well as the potential for environmental net gain. Our resilience needs to be protected and hence, we are considering the risks of droughts happening during periods when water is being transferred.

When the south-east is in drought, it is less likely that the north-west will also be in drought compared with other parts of England. However, we will work across the region and with other regions to ensure that supplies remain resilient across England and Wales and that levels of service to customers are protected.

It is important to highlight that the costs incurred in the WRW region to implement the options needed to support transfers would be paid for by the receiving water company. Therefore, the implementation of any transfer to another region will not negatively impact customer’s bills within our region. In addition, there will be other benefits arising from transfers such as:

• revenue benefits offsetting other company costs making improvements more affordable for customers

• job opportunities

• net gain opportunities and wider benefits through the multi benefit approach 

• accelerated delivery of supply options by United Utilities to support a future water transfer will allow a more efficient service improvement in other areas such as improved resilience to temporary use bans