Water demand in East of England forecast to double by 2050

Water demand in the East of England could double by 2050, Water Resources East (WRE) has warned whilst launching its draft plan for meeting the region’s future needs.

The plan, which is out for consultation until end of February, focuses on demand management, new reservoirs, desalination, effluent re-use and aquifer storage and recovery.

Work needs to begin now to ensure water supplies for the future, WRE stated, as it urged stakeholders to undertake planning and development for the significant new infrastructure that will be required.

Paul Leinster, the group’s independent chair, said: “The current focus is on identifying the no or low regret actions which are appropriate to progress now. These will include the initial planning and development aspects of strategic options. It will be many years before they are providing additional water supplies, but work needs to start on them now.”

WRE will not carry out the work itself, Leinster said. “It will be for other sectors to incorporate the issues and solutions identified within their planning processes. The WRE plan and process will provide a context and a means by which interested parties can have more confidence in making their choices.”

At present, the East of England uses the equivalent of 2,311 million litres daily, which WRE forecast could double by 2050. At the same time abstraction licences set by the EA will have sustainability reductions applied to them from 2025 to reduce impacts on waterbodies. This, WRE said, imparts an urgent and imminent requirement to find alternative options to meet short-term risks water needs by 2025.

The three phases of the plan are: now until 2025, 2025 to 2030 and 2030 onwards. During the initial phase, WRE called for demand management to be delivered by the water companies such as lowering per capita consumption (PCC), reducing leakage and developing a multi-sector collaborative strategy. It said abstraction reductions should prioritise chalk streams and the Norfolk Broads. The document also recommended designing and planning a strategic reservoir and carrying out research and development for a desalination plant by 2025.

During the second phase covering AMP8, the plan recommended ramping up the water efficiency of domestic and business consumers, particularly using smart metering as well as piloting usage tariffs.

At this point construction on a strategic reservoir system should begin, while using intermediate solutions such as water transfer from Anglian to Cambridge as required. Other infrastructure recommendations at this stage include piloting re-use schemes and desalination as well as an aquifer storage and recovery pilot at Sherwood, development of more storage options and potential transfers at a regional or national level.

For non-household users, WRE advised delivering a multi-sector approach to efficiency. There should also be a focus on water sharing and trading opportunities based on overseas case studies.

From 2030 onwards, strategic reservoirs should be built and operational; WRE recommended wider re-use and more desalination options as well as the delivery of multi-sector infrastructure linked to catchment plans.

Despite the need to significantly reduce customer demand, WRE said consumer research has shown that drought is not a conscious concern for customers, who are unaware of the supply shortages the region faces or the environmental sensitivity of chalk streams.

The group, which covers the east of England, comprises Anglian, Affinity, Essex and Suffolk, Cambridge and Severn Trent water companies. The area has the highest water demand for agriculture in the country and the lowest rainfall, making it a particularly dry region that has been classified as seriously water stressed by the Environment Agency.

As well as water companies, more than 200 organisations and stakeholders are involved with the group and its plan.