Many companies have good reasons to switch water supplier because they are getting a raw deal in terms of price, or because their local rivers are dealing with raw sewage. But there are times when it is not just what is happening now but how the future is being prepared for that matters most.
A point made repeatedly in these pages in recent times is that the projections for demand, population trends and expected impacts of climate change have all indicated that the southern half of England is where potential shortages of water will come in the next 20-30 years without capacity increases.
Reservoir Construction Starts
This is why new reservoirs are planned for the south and Midlands, with tangible progress this month as ground has been broken on digging the Havant Thicket Reservoir in Hampshire, the first new reservoir in England since 1992.
In total, there are now plans for nine new reservoirs, one expansion, seven water recycling schemes, eight desalination schemes, four surface water extraction schemes, two sub-surface extraction schemes and six water treatment works capacity increases.
However, of these, almost all are in the south, Midlands and east of England, with the only one in the north being the planned Elvington 2 water treatment works scheme for Yorkshire Water.
All this raises the question of what to do if we have a situation like the one occurring now, where the north has a very dry spell. While the first half of spring was the driest overall since 1956, in the north it has been the driest since 1929.
The Spring Of ’69
This raises the question of what the north can do if things get persistently drier, an issue that will concern householders and businesses alike.
The issue appears set to come to a head with warnings emerging to people to “use water wisely”. This was the message given by United Utilities as it was revealed that water levels in reservoirs across the north west are only 69 per cent full, compared with the 90 per cent norm for this time of year.
Some might wonder out loud if United Utilities should be joining those building new reservoirs.
Instead, the company’s chief operating officer, Matt Hemmings, has declared it will “upgrade over 925km of water network across the region with more durable and flexible pipes, built to withstand high pressure and temperature variations to protect against bursts and leaks”.
Is The North Going The Wrong Way?
The key question is whether that will be enough, or whether more reservoirs are needed, even though some have been decommissioned, such as Chapelhouse Reservoir in the Lake District, which is to have its dam removed as part of a project that will also see the end of water extraction from the natural lakes of Crummock Water and Over Water.
Of course, the Lake District is full of disused reservoirs, many of them either natural tarns (such as Stickle Tarn above Great Langdale) or artificial ones such as Gooseyfoot Tarn in the Grizedale Forest. Many of these used to be local water suppliers to villages or local industry.
The rationale behind these projects is one of nature restoration in the sensitive environment of a national park. In the Chapelhouse case, the reservoir was created by damming the River Ellen, so this could return to its natural state.
However, it might be that for commercial users, doing the reverse might be a smart move. Could your water supplier help you find a source that you can use commercially? After all, domestic consumers might cope with hosepipe bans and fewer showers, but commercial firms that need water to operate cannot.
Irrigation And Irritation
In Norfolk, six farms have taken matters into their own hands. Notwithstanding the various schemes Anglian Water is planning (including a new reservoir in the Fens and another in south Lincolnshire), the farmers have joined forces to fund a £1.1 million reservoir in the Broads to guarantee irrigation supplies, the Eastern Daily Post recently revealed.
The decision came about because the Environment Agency decided in 2021 to curb water extraction activities in the Ant Valley to aid local wildlife. That left question marks over local supplies. Tim Place, of fruit producer Place UK, initiated the project in partnership with his neighbours.
As a result, the six farms will share a reservoir containing the equivalent of over 100 Olympic swimming pools.
Mr Place told the paper: “Every farm is going to need a reservoir on-site eventually,” although he said that while the government seems to concur with this, it doesn’t make the process easy, outlining a series of irritating and awkward bureaucratic difficulties the scheme faced.
Could it be that, the more some parts of the country have water acquisition schemes curbed, local businesses will increasingly need local reservoirs for their own practical use?
