COMMUNITIES have been giving their views on plans for new sustainable water sources to protect Hampshire’s rare chalk streams and maintain supplies for customers.

Over the past six weeks, Southern Water has held a consultation on its Hampshire Water Transfer and Water Recycling Project. The company is developing new sources of water so less is taken from the River Test and River Itchen during a drought.

The consultation came at a time when water resources are under the spotlight. On August 5, Southern Water became the first of several water companies to impose drought restrictions on water use, known as a Temporary Use Ban.

The restrictions, for Southern Water’s water supply customers in Hampshire, came after eight months of extremely low rainfall, during one of the driest years since records began 131 years ago.

Temporary Use Bans help protect wildlife during drought by minimising the amount of water taken from the environment for public supply.

Southern Water says it has already significantly reduced the amount of water it takes from the Test and the Itchen and is progressing plans for new sources of water to protect them during a drought and reduce the risk of drought restrictions for customers in the future.

READ MORE: Southern Water drought plan for rare chalk stream faces challenge for failure to protect wild salmon

However, it faced criticism from anglers after company bosses submitted a Drought Permit application to the Environment Agency to continue abstracting water even if the river fell below an agreed minimum level, previously set for the protection of the Test’s salmon population.

The utility company has also come under pressure for the amount of water lost through leaks in the network, with approximately 88 million litres escaping through the faulty system per day. 

Liberal Democrat MP candidate for Winchester & Chandler's Ford, Danny Chambers, said: “Southern Water paying its executives huge bonuses when they are so clearly failing the public is a scandal. The firm has failed to invest in fixing the leaks but found over £718,000 to pay their hierarchy, an increase on last year’s exec payout.

"When it's too dry Southern Water forces a hosepipe ban. When it's too wet they spill sewage into our chalk streams and rivers. 

Andover Advertiser: Councillor Margot Power and Danny Chambers Councillor Margot Power and Danny Chambers

"They should stop paying failing execs their bonuses and start actually investing in our infrastructure. Southern Water customers deserve better."

Southern Water has said reductions in the amount of water it can take from the Test and Itchen rivers leave the company with a significant shortfall in a drought.

It added that while these chalk streams support a wide variety of species and deserve protection, they also supply water to more than 700,000 people.

Chiefs have further insisted they are working on reducing leakage and supporting and incentivising people to reduce their water use to 100 litres a day.

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Their fresh plans centre around the Havant Thicket Reservoir which is being funded by Southern Water and developed in collaboration with Portsmouth Water in what it has described as an "innovative" cross-company agreement.

Alongside increasing investment in finding and fixing leaks, and supporting customers to save precious water themselves, through this project Southern Water proposes to:

  • Build a new water recycling plant south of Havant to turn treated wastewater into purified, recycled water
  • Transfer this recycled water via a new underground pipeline to the Havant Thicket Reservoir where it will mix with water from underground springs.
  • Build a new underground pipeline to transfer water from the reservoir to the Otterbourne Water Supply Works, where it will be treated further to become drinking water

These proposals are separate from the current, approved plans for Havant Thicket Reservoir and are subject to further consultation and planning approvals.

The six-week consultation ran from July 5 to August 16 and will be followed by a further public consultation on the developing plans next year.

Over the six weeks, almost 900 people attended six drop-in sessions held in community venues and shopping centres, while dozens more joined webinars to find out more about the plans.

A virtual room was set up online where people could view the consultation brochure, search maps and give their feedback.

Mark Wintringham, Southern Water’s Head of Project Delivery, said: “We’re really pleased with the level of engagement on our plans and grateful to everyone who took the time to give their feedback.

“The fact that our consultation, which we have spent many months planning, launched as Hampshire suffers a drought shows just how real and pressing the water resources challenge is.

“Our Hampshire Water Transfer and Water Recycling Project involves tapping into a new source of water that’s always available and not needed by wildlife – the millions of litres of highly treated wastewater we produce every day.

“We spend a considerable amount of time and money cleaning this water to a high standard so it can be released into the sea but then we have to wait for the water cycle to return it to us.

“We’re now planning to take some of this water, purify it and pump it into the Havant Thicket Reservoir so there’s more water available for people that hasn’t come from the rivers.”