WRMPs published – in wettest year on record

Many water companies last week published their final Water Resource Management Plans (WRMPs), incorporating final adjustments as directed by the Government after securing approval in the summer. 

All plans feature leak reduction and water efficiency activities including smart meter deployment, and some include major schemes including new reservoirs, desalination plants, water recycling projects and transfer schemes. 

In the Water Resources South East group region, all companies except Southern Water have published their plans. Thames Water’s plan, for instance, includes the SESRO mega reservoir and the Teddington water recycling scheme, as well as demand reduction and leakage actions intended to make up 80% of the shortfall Thames envisages. This runs to 1bn litres of water a day by 2050.

In the Water Resources East group region, Anglian Water has published its plan, which features the Fens and Lincolnshire reservoirs as well as focus on demand management, reuse, desalination and transfers. The government has also approved Affinity Water and Essex & Suffolk Water’s plans. Cambridge Water has resubmitted its WRMP with approval anticipated in late December or early January 2025.

• The last 12 months has been the wettest October to September on record (since 1836) for England, the National Drought Group reported at its most recent meeting. Reservoir storage was at 76% at the end of September, and river flows in September were normal or higher at three-quarters of sites, with a third ‘exceptionally high’ for the time of year. Groundwater levels usually continue to decline in September and, despite the wet weather, this was the case for the majority of sites. However, groundwater levels in early October are rising in many aquifers in response to the exceptionally wet September, when some parts of the country received more than three times the average rainfall.

• The Environment Agency plans to launch an eight-week public consultation in the coming weeks on how drought is managed in England, calling for public views and input into its operational area drought plans.