Last week the world’s eyes were focused on COP27 in Egypt, where more than 120 world leaders were meeting to discuss climate change. There has already been a stark warning that our planet is ‘sending a distress signal’, with a UN report giving the bleak news that the past eight years were on track to be the warmest on record.
While the discussion of climate change and water security has taken place on a global platform, we are feeling the effects in our region after a particularly dry summer. So much so, that despite this week’s heavy rainfall, our rivers and reservoirs are still not at the levels expected for this time of year.
Currently the South East is classified as an ‘area of serious water stress’ by the Government. For this reason, earlier this year, we put in place a three-month hosepipe ban to help protect our own regional water resources from drought. We announced last week that this has now been lifted and thanks to the fantastic efforts of our customers we were able to save 11 million litres of water across our region and protect our iconic chalk stream rivers, the Test and Itchen. But there is a lot more work to be done.
In our region, population growth is expected to increase by up to 30% - increasing demand for water resources by up to 200 million litres a day. By 2040, if we do nothing, we could face a 300 million litre per day shortfall in water supplies. By 2075, this shortfall could increase to over 500 million litres per day. This is because more water will be needed as the population grows and less will be available as the climate changes.
It is clear there is an immediate need for a holistic approach to ensure resilient water supply for both now and the future. We have committed to investing £2 billion between 2020-25 to significantly improve performance, reduce pollution and fix leaks. This includes making sure our region’s water supplies are more resilient to severe droughts by putting in place a number of innovations and solutions alongside support and direct action from our customers.
In the winter when water levels become high, new reservoirs can store water directly from rivers. They can also be used to store water from other sources, such as water recycling plants. There has not been a new reservoir in our region since 1976 but we are changing that. We are building a new reservoir in Havant. The groundworks are underway and we expect it to be operational by 2029.
We’re also investing in new technologies that will support water recycling, designed to provide reliable high-quality drinking water for our customers while simultaneously protecting the environment. The technique means treated wastewater, which is currently released out to sea, would undergo further treatment at a water recycling plant before being released into a river, lake, or reservoir to boost resources.
Although the hosepipe ban has been lifted, we still rely on our customers taking steps to reduce their water usage, which they can do by making some small changes to the way they consume water at home. We have launched Target 100, which is a commitment to our customers to support them to reduce personal consumption to an average of 100 litres each per day by 2040, while we reduce leakage by 15% by 2025 and 40% by 2040. Customer action for example, might include taking showers instead of baths, using water butts, turning the tap off while brushing teeth and only boiling as much water as needed in the kettle.
If we’re going to create a resilient water future, we must all rethink how we use water, where we get it from and how we work with nature to ensure our supplies are sustainable. Support from our government and regulatory system, alongside continued investment in the UK’s water and wastewater networks, will be critical if the UK is to meet its climate ambitions and protect its water resources for future generations.
Toby Willison, Director of Environment and Corporate Affairs, Southern Water