Regional water needs
Our challenge
As a group, we must ensure that there is enough water available in the future to satisfy the needs of people, businesses and the environment. Whilst our needs are not as great as those of other regions, we must plan now to futureproof our supplies. The area covered by Water Resources West is home to 18 million households and numerous businesses. We have thriving rural communities and bustling urban centres with a rich industrial heritage. Currently, daily water needs across Water Resources West are:
4,570 million litres for public water supplies
742 million litres for navigation
334 million litres for other non-public water supply abstractors
Water companies across our region are working hard to reduce leaks and help their customers save water:
Even with ambitious water saving efforts, it is likely that we will need new water resources in some parts of the region over the long term for both public water supplies and other abstractors.
WRW’s four core water company members published draft WRMPs:
Preparing a long term water resources plan is a significant process involving detailed technical appraisals and extensive consultation. Following publication of the 2019 plans, our members have developed the next set of long term water resources plans, to be finalised in 2023. These new plans take into account data that has emerged following the completion of the 2019 plans and new guidance, policy and aspirations of the region. The draft WRMPs have been published for consultation and are available via the inks above.
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.
The report identifies the strategic long-term water needs of England for all sectors that depend on a secure supply of water. 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 resources plans.
Our challenge is to balance the needs of people and the economy with the need to protect and enhance our water environment.
We have updated forecasts for our water needs in our Draft Regional Plan. We will need over 200 million litres per day of water from new sources to address pressures on public water supplies. Furthermore, it is projected that by 2050, we would also need around an additional 97 million litres per day to meet the needs of other abstractors.
Our need for water will increase in the future due to:
Population & economic growth
In future decades, an increasing population will require more resources to supply more households. At the same time, economic growth will require us to direct more water to industry.
Protecting the water environment
We must reduce the volume of water we abstract from the environment, to protect it from deterioration and deliver improvements. This need is even more acute when we account for climate change impacts on the water environment. Abstraction reductions are the greatest constraint on our resources in the short and medium term.
Climate change and drought resilience
In the future, changes in rain patterns and more frequent droughts will further constrain our water supplies. By 2039, we must ensure our region’s supplies are resilient to extreme drought events. This will reduce the chance of measures such as rota cuts and standpipes being introduced (to a 5% chance of occurrence over the next 25 years in line with National Infrastructure Commission recommendations).
Our opportunity
We have a unique opportunity to improve people’s wellbeing and our region’s environment. By working together we can find solutions to our water needs that bring multiple benefits. The innovative solutions we will put forward will ensure our region can grow in a sustainable way.
We are an ambitious region; the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution and home of the UK’s first National Park. Our ambition is rooted in this tradition of progress. Simply put, we want our water resources to be better in the future. There are a number of different aspects to this: our region is one of great diversity and opportunity.
We are building an ambitious, resilient and sustainable water resources plan which can adapt to our needs and the challenges that we will face in future decades.
Our plan will:
⦁ address the long-term needs of public and non-public water supply
sectors throughout our region
⦁ adapt to the challenges we will face in future decades
⦁ contribute to the delivery of the Government’s 25-year Environment
Plan for England, the Water Strategy for Wales and the Welsh
Government’s Natural Resources Policy
⦁ deliver positive environmental outcomes, avoid deterioration,
increase environmental resilience and promote wellbeing in our
communities
⦁ support the UK-wide and water sector plans for carbon net zero
⦁ be cost effective and balanced
⦁ contribute to national water resources resilience without prejudice to
our own region.
WRW members are also working with others across the water sector, to better understand the issues we face, for example through the UKWIR ‘Big questions’ initiative.
Our Environmental Destination is an extremely important part of our work. Our long term planning encompasses actions to deliver a range of benefits for the water environment. We are working with stakeholders across several catchments in England and Wales to understand the specific issues present in each of them and to identify holistic solutions to address these.
