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Commission on Sustainable Development in the South East

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Commission on Sustainable Development in the South East Commission on Sustainable Development in the South East Managing Water Resources and Flood Risk in the South East Louise Every and Julie Foley WORKING PAPER FOUR © ippr 2005 Supported by the South East Counties and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP institute for public policy research 30-32 Southampton Street, London, WC2E 7RA tel: +44 (0)20 7470 6100 fax: +44 (0)20 7470 6111 [email protected] • www.ippr.org registered charity 800065 The Commission on Sustainable Development in the South East The Commission's goal is for the South East to maintain its economic success and its position as one of Europe's most prosperous regions, while at the same time enhancing its environment and improving the well-being and quality of life of all its citizens. The Commission shall take into account the position of the South East with regards to London as a world city and as the frontier to mainland Europe, as well as considering the UK’s inter- regional disparities. The Commission will have six research and policy challenges: • The South East is a leading growth region. Should there be limits to growth and if so where do those limits lie? • Do we give GDP too much priority when measuring success? Should we reconceptualise what we mean by human development and quality of life so that they are not solely reliant on narrow economic indicators of success? • Can and should the South East absorb all the new homes the Government says are needed? • Is the South East grinding to a halt? How should additional transport infrastructure and services be paid for and should policy makers be taking radical action to tackle congestion and pollution? • How can the South East encourage more efficient and sustainable use of resources as well as mitigate the predicted effects of climate change? • Should we see the Greater South East as one of the world’s ‘mega-city’ regions? Does the South East’s inter-relationship with London and the other counties that make up the Greater South East require new ways of working and in what policy areas? The Commission members include: • Cllr Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart OBE, Leader of Kent County Council and Chairman of the Local Government Association (Commission Chairman) • Cllr Nick Skellett, Leader of Surrey County Council and Chair of South East England Regional Assembly • Richard Shaw, Chief Executive of Surrey County Council • Nick Pearce, Director of ippr • Baroness Barbara Young, Chief Executive of Environment Agency • Alistair Rose, Regional Chairman for the South East, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP • Robert Douglas, Deputy Chair of the South East England Development Agency • Cllr Dame Jane Roberts, Leader of Camden • Nicholas Boles, Director of Policy Exchange • Dr Valerie Ellis, Member of the Sustainable Development Commission • Sue Regan, Director of Policy, Shelter • Chris Huhne, MEP for the South East region • Nick Townsend, Group Legal Director of Wilson Bowden The Commission will produce a final report of its findings in the summer of 2005. For more information on the Commission’s work visit: www.ippr.org/research/index.php?current=44 This working paper does not necessarily represent the views of the Commissioners. MANAGING WATER RESOURCES AND FLOOD RISK IN THE SOUTH EAST 1 Acknowledgements Thanks are extended to Cindy Warwick of Oxford University, Steve Cooke, Chris Hewett, Simon Hughes and Elliott Robertson (Environment Agency), Sebastian Catovsky (Association of British Insurers), David Payne (South East England Regional Assembly), Richard Lemon (Government Office of the South East), George Day (Ofwat), Sean Rendell (Woking Borough Council), Dr Elizabeth Wilson (Oxford Brookes University) and Graham Setterfield (South East Water Resources Forum). MANAGING WATER RESOURCES AND FLOOD RISK IN THE SOUTH EAST 2 Managing Water Resources and Flood Risk in the South East: Summary Scope of the research This working paper focuses on the impact that current and proposed housing developments in the South East will have on water resources, flood risk and flood management. It sets out to address two key questions: • Is there enough water to meet the rising demand for new housing and domestic consumption in the South East? • What impact will new housing developments have on flood risk in the South East growth areas? Water resources in the South East • The South East is currently water stressed both in terms of overall water resources and the public water supply. • Climate change is expected to exacerbate water stress in the region. The impacts of climate change are uncertain but a precautionary approach is needed. • Total industry leakage rates have risen over the last three years. In the South East, Thames Water and Three Valleys Water have failed to reach their leakage targets. Leakage rates may actually be higher than reported, as unmetered per capita consumption may be disguising significant levels of leakage. • The South East has some of the highest rates of per capita consumption, and as population increases, household size decreases and climate change progresses, overall water demand is expected to rise significantly. • There are a few areas in the South East where the physical ability of the environment to cope with increased effluent volumes could constrain development. Managing demand for water Reducing leakage • The Office for Water Services (Ofwat) should more rigorously enforce leakage targets. It should work with water companies failing to meet leakage targets to develop action plans for reducing wastage, with clear penalties for failure. Increasing water efficiency • Water metering encourages a more efficient use of water. • The Government, water companies and Ofwat should consider how to speed up the installation of meters in areas of low water availability. • The Environment Agency should be given a stronger role to independently assess when supply zones should be declared as Water Scarce Areas so that higher levels of metering can be advocated. • In conjunction with promoting water metering, the Government should work with water companies, Ofwat and local authorities to raise the profile of its assistance for low income and vulnerable householders who face difficulties paying their water bill. • The Government should revise the Buildings Regulations to require that all new homes meet a minimum of a 20 per cent reduction in per capita consumption of water (compared to the national average) which could be achieved with affordable A- rated water saving household appliances. • The voluntary Code for Sustainable Buildings should aim for water efficiency standards that go beyond the minimum required by Building Regulations. It could recommend a 20 to 30 per cent reduction in per capita consumption of water (compared to the national average) in new homes. Achieving higher water efficiency savings of above a 25 per cent reduction in per capita consumption will, however, require changes to the way people use water. Options such as grey water recycling MANAGING WATER RESOURCES AND FLOOD RISK IN THE SOUTH EAST 3 (re-using some household water for low-water-quality applications) will need public acceptance. • The Government should consider introducing a water industry counterpart to the Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC) for improving the water efficiency of new and existing homes. The Government should set each water company a water saving target which they could meet by encouraging householders to install water efficiency measures. The obligation should require a proportion of the target to be met in low income, larger households. Ofwat could take responsibility for co-ordinating the Water Efficiency Commitment with guidance from the Government. The Government would need to provide grants to help subsidise the costs of water saving measures for low income, larger families. • The Water Efficiency Commitment would not have to be nationwide but could be focused on regions with water stressed areas. The South East should participate in a regional pilot giving water companies in the South East an opportunity to demonstrate their corporate commitment to water efficiency and a head start in implementing the scheme. • The responsibilities of the Energy Saving Trust (EST) should be expanded to incorporate not only energy efficiency and transport fuel efficiency but also water efficiency. The EST could be renamed as the ‘Resource Efficiency Trust’ to reflect its expanded role. Increasing water supply Costing new water infrastructure • The cost of providing new water infrastructure is borne by individual customers through their water bills. • The extent to which the Water Price Review, for the period 2005–10, accounted for the additional water and sewerage infrastructure costs associated with new housing developments in the South East is unclear. If significant new infrastructure is needed this could further increase water bills over the medium to long term. • But it should be noted that households in the UK currently pay less on average for their water use than some other European countries. Co-ordinating water resource management and development planning • Both the availability of water resources and impact on water quality, over the lifetime of the development, should be material considerations in development planning. Water scarcity and water quality may be grounds for refusal of planning permission in cases where further resources or improvements in water efficiency cannot be identified. • Development plans should be elaborated in tandem with water resource plans, and both should consider long-term climate change impacts. • Water companies should become statutory consultees for Regional Spatial Strategies and Local Development Frameworks to ensure that the cost and limits of water infrastructure requirements is fully understood. Is there enough water to meet the rising demand for new housing and domestic consumption in the South East? There is potentially enough water in the South East to meet the rising demand for new housing and domestic consumption. But only with the timely provision of new water resources and high water efficiency savings in existing and new homes. Relying on supply-side measures, such as new or enlarged reservoirs, to meet increasing demand would be a risky strategy.
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