Southern Water: New reservoir after drought order slammed

Southern Water submitted a Drought Order Application on July 18 to ensure that it can keep supplying water to customers.

The order would allow Southern Water to abstract (remove) water from the River Test - an idea that one environmental charity argues would have a "devastating effect".

WildFish, a charity which aims to prevent harm to the ecology of rivers from over-abstraction and maintain sustainable wild fish populations, submitted a letter of objection to the proposals.

A spokesperson for WildFish said: "The application, which would allow the water company to abstract water even when levels are dangerously low, comes at a time of increased public scrutiny towards water companies and pollution in our rivers."

In its objection letter, WildFish said the proposed plans would have a "devastating effect on the river and its ecology”. The charity argues that by lowering the water level, abstractions can lead to low flows, which result in a host of problems for both humans and wildlife.

The spokesperson continued: "Not only can lower water levels prove deadly to wild fish, but reduced water levels also mean that sewage, chemicals, and other dangerous pollutants present in rivers are not diluted as much, leading to even worse build-ups of toxins.

"The Test, which is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), is notable for being one of England’s precious chalk streams. Chalk streams are commonly regarded as the country’s equivalent of coral reefs and rainforests."

Justin Neal, solicitor at WildFish, said: "Southern Water could have potentially avoided having to apply for a Drought Order if it had properly invested in long-term supply measures such as building new reservoirs and increasing water recycling."

You can find WildFish’s objection letter in full by clicking here.

In response to this, Southern Water said that it completely understands the concerns raised but stressed that the company has to follow a strict legal process set by the government and regulators, due to the current drought conditions.

This means that the company must demonstrate that is has considered all possible actions to ensure it keeps supplying water to customers and that it does what it can to mitigate any negative environmental impact at the same time. This, in turn, means it had to apply for this Drought Order.

Southern Water also said it is looking into building a new reservoir in Hampshire, the first in more than 30 years.

In a statement to the Advertiser, the company insisted that this does not mean that the Drought Order it applied for will ever be needed. 

Southern Water explained that it would only be implemented if the river flows fall below 355 million litres per day, which is a long way off at present. The Drought Order, if ever used, would allow Southern Water to continue to abstract as per normal, but when the river flow is lower than its Abstraction Licence allows.

A spokesperson for Southern Water said: "We follow a strict legal process, set by the government and regulators, to ensure we are taking the correct steps to both keep supplying water to our customers and to mitigate any negative environmental impact at the same time.

"We applied for a Drought Order on Friday, July 18 for the River Test in accordance with this, but this would only ever be needed if river flows fall below 355 million litres per day - allowing us to continue taking water to keep taps running.

"We continue to monitor levels closely and are currently not close to this trigger. This is thanks to households and businesses across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight using less water, and our teams tackling leaks and optimising our water network around the clock.

"Longer term, constructing a new reservoir – the first in more than 30 years -- water recycling schemes and water transfers from neighbouring areas are among the important steps we’re taking to build future drought resilience for Hampshire and our region."