Southern Water are currently consulting on their Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP), which includes the proposed water transfer and recycling project at Havant Thicket Reservoir. Water regulators will review and scrutinise the plan to ensure it is fit for purpose, the risks to the environment including the impact on chalk streams are low, and it is value for money.

Options such as water recycling mark a transition to water supplies that are not dependent upon the uncertainties of rainfall. These options are well established elsewhere around the world and in the UK, to ensure resilient supplies in a changing climate.

For any water recycling scheme to proceed it must comply with the Water Environment Regulations (formally the Water Framework Directive) and the Habitats Regulations. The Environment Agency will ensure environmental requirements are met through their roles as statutory consultee of the planning process and regulator for environmental permits. Environmental impact assessments are required to support planning and permitting and appropriate mitigation must be provided for any impacts.

Southern Water are currently consulting on their Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP), which includes the proposed water transfer and recycling project at Havant Thicket Reservoir. Water regulators will review and scrutinise the plan to ensure it is fit for purpose, the risks to the environment including the impact on chalk streams are low, and it is value for money.

Options such as water recycling mark a transition to water supplies that are not dependent upon the uncertainties of rainfall. These options are well established elsewhere around the world and in the UK, to ensure resilient supplies in a changing climate.

For any water recycling scheme to proceed it must comply with the Water Environment Regulations (formally the Water Framework Directive) and the Habitats Regulations. The Environment Agency will ensure environmental requirements are met through their roles as statutory consultee of the planning process and regulator for environmental permits. Environmental impact assessments are required to support planning and permitting and appropriate mitigation must be provided for any impacts.

Southern Water are currently consulting on their Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP), which includes the proposed water transfer and recycling project at Havant Thicket Reservoir. Water regulators will review and scrutinise the plan to ensure it is fit for purpose, the risks to the environment including the impact on chalk streams are low, and it is value for money.

Options such as water recycling mark a transition to water supplies that are not dependent upon the uncertainties of rainfall. These options are well established elsewhere around the world and in the UK, to ensure resilient supplies in a changing climate.

For any water recycling scheme to proceed it must comply with the Water Environment Regulations (formally the Water Framework Directive) and the Habitats Regulations. The Environment Agency will ensure environmental requirements are met through their roles as statutory consultee of the planning process and regulator for environmental permits. Environmental impact assessments are required to support planning and permitting and appropriate mitigation must be provided for any impacts.

The independent water commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, will consult experts in areas like the environment, public health, engineering, customers, investors and economics, reporting to the Secretary of State for Environment and Wales’ Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs by Q2 2025. The commission will consider the challenges the water sector faces as a whole and use the evidence to set out recommendations that will help transform the sector. The Terms of Reference for the Independent Commission are available at GOV.UK.

Southern Water have recently consulted on their proposal to turn treated wastewater, normally pumped out to sea, into purified recycled water. This water would then be pumped to Havant Thicket Reservoir, where it would be stored and mixed with spring water, before being pumped along a new pipeline and treated prior to going into supply.

The urgent need to protect the iconic chalk rivers of Hampshire means that action is needed now to ensure resilient and sustainable water supplies. Options such as water recycling mark a transition to water supplies that are not dependent upon the uncertainties of rainfall. These options are well established elsewhere around the world and are already operating elsewhere in the UK, to ensure resilient supplies in a changing climate.

All water recycling options including Southern Water’s must meet the environmental requirements for wastewater treatment discharges into the environment. Water re-abstracted from the environment for public water supply must also be treated to meet our high drinking water standards before use, in accordance with a robust risk assessment.

Recent research carried out for the Drinking Water Inspectorate indicated a high level of support (79% agreement) for the use of water recycling to supplement drinking water supplies.

An online survey and in-depth, online interviews were undertaken between July and September 2022. The online survey had 1,618 respondents with demographic representation broadly consistent with the UK adult population. Survey respondents were randomly allocated to groups so that the impact of two manipulated variables (relating to water recycling scheme design and to terminology) could be investigated. Overall, the survey showed that there was a relatively high Ref: DWI 70/2/348. Project Report ii level of support (79% agreement) for the utilisation of water recycling to supplement drinking water supplies. The survey results also showed that terminology has a stronger influence on levels of support for water recycling than scheme configuration (e.g. the presence of environmental buffers).

Working with water companies, the Environment Agency has concluded a programme to install Event Duration Monitors (EDM) on the vast majority of storm overflows, just over 80% of overflows in England, by the end of 2020. These monitors provide a robust and consistent way of monitoring how often and for how long storm overflows are used. By the end of 2023, the remaining number will be monitored.

Our landmark Environment Act places a direct duty on Water Companies and the Environment Agency to publish this sewage discharge data, building on the commitments to openness and transparency made through the Defra led Storm Overflows taskforce. This data was published for the first time in March 2021 for data in 2020.

The Environment Act also goes further, requiring water companies to monitor both the upstream and downstream impacts of their assets and to notify of spills in near real time (within 1 hour). The government will be bringing forward implementing legislation in respect of these duties in due course. The Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, also legislated for in the Environment Act, is due to be published in September 2022.

It will be up to individual water companies to take account of the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan and other guidance when considering specific local projects to be included as part of their business plans.

Tackling the harm caused by sewer overflows is a top priority for this Department.

There are currently no projects planned by Southern Water to improve treatment or increase capacity at Budds Farm wastewater treatment facility within this Asset Management cycle (2020-2025). There have been improvement projects to environmental monitoring systems at Budds Farm wastewater treatment facility. The treatment works is complying with its permit and there are have been no recorded breaches of effluent quality standards for this discharge during 2020.

During periods of significant rainfall untreated sewage diluted by rainwater will discharge through storm overflows to avoid streets, premises and sewage treatment plants from being flooded. Water companies are committed in the 5-year business planning period (2020-2025) to a significant programme of improvements to the monitoring and management of storm overflows at a cost of around £1.1 billion. This investment includes undertaking 800 investigations and 798 improvement schemes to provide environmental improvements by reducing spills from frequently spilling overflows.

I met water company CEOs in September and made clear that the volume of sewage discharged into rivers and other waterways in extreme weather must be reduced.

The new Storm Overflows Taskforce - bringing together Government, the water industry, regulators and environmental NGOs - has agreed to set a long term goal to eliminate harm from storm overflows. The Taskforce is now working on plans to start making progress towards that goal, and they have commissioned research to gather evidence on the costs, benefits and feasibility of different options.

Water companies are currently producing for the first time comprehensive Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans to assess the capacity of their wastewater networks. We are also taking key steps through the Environment Bill to require water companies to produce such Plans on a statutory basis. These plans will be another tool to help address the risks that storm overflows pose to the environment.

The closure of Pfizer’s Havant cold store facility had no effect on the delivery or storage of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to the United Kingdom. The vaccine is supplied to Public Health England (PHE) directly from Pfizer’s manufacturing facility in Belgium. PHE manages the storage and distribution of this vaccine and has developed significant capability to store around five million doses of this vaccine at ultra-low temperature onward distribution to the National Health Service.