South East Water have published their draft Water Resources Management Plan for consultation which looks at how they intend to supply drinking water to their customers up to 2075. Feedback from customers will help them shape their final plan. A statement of response, taking all feedback into account, will be published in May 2023 ahead of the final plan being published in 2024.
The consultation closes on 20 February 2023.
We are very aware in Mid Sussex, following extended and wide-spread outages over recent months and years, that their ability to supply water is under increasing pressure. Whilst robustness of infrastructure and responsiveness to outages, including communication with their customers, and irrespective of the cause, is a vital contributing factor to this increasing pressure other factors include a growing population, changing climate and new laws to rightly protect the environment.
Further to the major outages running up to Christmas and experienced unnecessarily by so many constituents, as a result of burst mains following the sudden thaw, I have met yet again with South East Water to provide feedback. I have strongly re-iterated my disappointment in the poor level of communication constituents experienced, the complete inadequacy of provision of bottled water stations in the areas in Mid Sussex affected and the vulnerability of the infrastructure. These are recurring messages and I am frustrated that following earlier major outages, including those in August/September 2020 and Feb 2022, that improvements to processes have been slow to be implemented.
South East Water’s draft Water Resources Management Plan seeks to create a regional solution to address the pressures on the system whilst protecting and enhancing the environment and adding value to society. They explain that their plan outlines how they intend to invest £2.2 billion during the next 50 years by building a range of new infrastructure, and a further £2.1 billion reducing leaks and customer water use.
Their plan is part of the wider Water Resources in the South East (WRSE) regional plan which is also being consulted upon at the same time. More details about the regional plan can be found here.
Projects in the plan include:
- Leak reduction and water efficiency activities
- New pipelines to increase the amount of water that moves between water companies and also within our supply area
- A new reservoir at Broad Oak (Kent)
- Water recycling between Peacehaven Wastewater Treatment Plan and Arlington
- Desalination at Reculver (Kent)
- New reservoir in East Sussex - a second reservoir at a preferred location of Arlington or Broyle Place
Ahead of submitting feedback there is the opportunity to attend a WRSE interactive online Q&A session on the 2nd February:
- 13:00 to 15:00 – log on to this website during this time to pose your question and have it answered in real time.
To find out more, you can view the plan in full detail and submit your views on their dedicated consultation hub. Responses can also be sent directly to the Secretary of State by emailing: [email protected]
