Water Resources East yesterday launched their much awaited consultation on the emerging Water Resources Regional Plan for Eastern England. The Plan proposes medium to long term solutions for meeting the water supply needs of South Cambridgeshire and Cambridge City.
What is Water Resources East?
Water Resources East (WRE) is the organisation working on solving the water supply issues we have in the Greater Cambridge area in particular and Eastern Region in general. It is creating a Water Resources Regional Plan whose purpose is to ensure that the region has sustainable and resilient water resources up to 2050 and beyond.
According to the press release, this informal consultation is the first stage of a two-year process that will culminate in a final plan being produced in autumn 2023.
It stated that “The emerging plan reveals that by 2050, the Eastern region could require around double (2,267 Ml/d) the amount of water currently used. This arises from an increasing demand for public water supply and for the agri-food and the energy sectors, alongside an increasing allocation to the natural environment, and mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change.”
Furthermore, it states that “the consultation launched today, highlights a number of emerging supply side options and alternative sources, together with demand management measures, that will be needed at different time periods to 2050 to help meet these ambitious sustainability reductions and increasing water demand forecasts from across sectors.”
What is the Water Resources Management Plan?
You will find the full emerging Water Resources East Regional Plan here. The picture below shows the concept in the WRE Regional Plan proposals.
The focus of the regional plan is on
- Recovery, enhancement and protection of the natural water environment
- Demand management by reducing leakage and individual daily water usage
- Providing large infrastructure options to delivering water in bulk such as reservoirs and water transfers
- Delivery of local projects and schemes by local water suppliers
- Identifying and supporting water innovations in Eastern Region
Developing the Regional Plan is an iterative and adaptive process that will require many discussions around trade-offs and compromises.
Why is this Water Resources East Regional Plan important?
The Emerging Greater Cambridge Local Plan in its First Proposals identifies the issue of water supply as critical to how the housing needs of South Cambridgeshire and Cambridge City will be delivered in the plan period 2021 to 2041. It acknowledges the wide spread concern about insufficient water supply, especially from the chalk streams. the emerging Local Plan will rely on the plans put forward by the Water Companies to ensure there is enough water provided to this area. Therefore, both Councils are responding to this first consultation by WRE.
The water supply issue affects existing water users, and will affect potential water uses in Greater Cambridge.
If you live in South Cambridgeshire or Cambridge City, I encourage you to checkout the proposals and how to have your say on this very important water supply issue. Responses to this consultation will be used to develop the draft regional plan produced later in 2022. The Closing date for this informal consultation is Monday 28 February 2022.
Happy Reading