Communities have been giving their views on plans for new sustainable water sources to protect Hampshire’s rare chalk streams and maintain supplies for customers.
Over the past six weeks, Southern Water has run a consultation on its Hampshire Water Transfer and Water Recycling Project. The company is developing new sources of water so less is taken from the River Test and River Itchen during a drought.
The consultation came at a time when water resources are under the spotlight. On August 5, Southern Water became the first of several water companies to impose drought restrictions on water use, known as a Temporary Use Ban.
The restrictions, for Southern Water’s water supply customers in Hampshire, were needed after eight months of extremely low rainfall, during one of the driest years since records began 131 years ago.
Temporary Use Bans help protect wildlife during drought by minimising the amount of water taken from the environment for public supply.
Southern Water has already significantly reduced the amount of water it takes from the Test and the Itchen and is progressing plans for new sources of water to protect them during a drought and reduce the risk of drought restrictions for customers in the future.
The plans centre around the Havant Thicket Reservoir which is being funded by Southern Water and developed in collaboration with Portsmouth Water in an innovative cross-company agreement.
Alongside increasing investment in finding and fixing leaks, and supporting customers to save precious water themselves, through this unique project Southern Water proposes to:
- Build a new water recycling plant south of Havant to turn treated wastewater into purified, recycled water.
- Transfer this recycled water via a new underground pipeline to the Havant Thicket Reservoir where it will mix with water from underground springs.
- Build a new underground pipeline to transfer water from the reservoir to the Otterbourne Water Supply Works, where it will be treated further to become drinking water.
These proposals are separate from the current, approved plans for Havant Thicket Reservoir and are subject to further consultation and planning approvals.
The six-week consultation ran from 5 July to 16 August and will be followed by a further public consultation on the developing plans next year.
Over the six weeks, almost 900 people attended six drop-in sessions held in community venues and shopping centres, while dozens more joined webinars to find out more about the plans. A virtual room was set up online where people could view the consultation brochure, search maps and give their feedback on the plans.
Mark Wintringham, Southern Water’s Head of Project Delivery, said: “We’re really pleased with the level of engagement on our plans and grateful to everyone who took the time to give their feedback.
“The fact that our consultation, which we have spent many months planning, launched as Hampshire suffers a drought shows just how real and pressing the water resources challenge is.
“Our Hampshire Water Transfer and Water Recycling Project involves tapping into a new source of water that’s always available and not needed by wildlife – the millions of litres of highly treated wastewater we produce every day.
“We spend a considerable amount of time and money cleaning this water to a high standard so it can be released into the sea but then we have to wait for the water cycle to return it to us.
“We’re now planning to take some of this water, purify it and pump it into the Havant Thicket Reservoir so there’s more water available for people that hasn’t come from the rivers.”