SUMMARY DOCUMENT

SUSTAINING OUR RESOURCES

Southern Region water resources development strategy

NRA National Rivers Authority Southern Region INTRODUCTION SOUTHERN REGION • Promote future reallocations of The drought has highlighted the supplies between companies, Hydrology importance of water resources to where appropriate. Southern Region’s average annual everyone in the South East. People have rainfall is just under 800 mm per year. been inconvenienced by lengthy • Permit new abstraction of water at This makes it the third driest region of hosepipe bans and the once “Silvery the downstream limit of rivers. Darent” has become a national symbol England and Wales (and Scotland), after Anglian and Thames regions. After for rivers dried up by over abstraction. • Protect river interests from the effects of abstraction by allowing for evaporation losses and The NRA national water resources incorporating controlling flows in water used by plants, some 485 mm on strategy document has demonstrated the licences. average, the net effective rainfall divide between the wet, less populated, available to recharge aquifers and North and West, and the dry more • Promote, where appropriate, the contribute to river flow averages 300 mm populated South and East. augmentation of chalk streams by per year. groundwater abstraction to the NRA Southern Region, covering Kent, benefit of all river users. We will Sussex, and the also support river-regulating Average annual rainfi has now examined in more detail the reservoirs. in Southern Region need for water in the South East and has set out a 30 year strategy to meet • Promote the return of treated demand whilst protecting the effluent to the local catchment Total Rainfall environment. wherever possible. 785 mm

In June 1992 the NRA Board approved a • Persuade water companies and number of Key Issue Statements on consumers to adopt water saving

‘Managing the Drought and Water measures. Evaporation Resources’. Southern Region has Losses adopted a policy which extends these • Persuade water companies to issues to the particular conditions of install domestic water meters with south east England, which has scarce appropriate tariffs before major resources and a large number of water new resource schemes are licensed. company supply areas. • Work with OFWAT to ensure Net Effective that water companies achieve Rainfall appropriate leakage targets.

SOUTHERN REGION - • Remedy the effects of over WATER RESOURCES POLICY abstracted catchments by Net effective rainfall provides the The National Rivers Authority has a improved groundwater resource from which all uses of duty to conserve, redistribute, management. freshwater, both consumptive and non­ augment and ensure the proper use of consumptive, must in the end be met. water resources. In the Southern • Take into account the possible Hence its relative level of exploitation is Region we seek to achieve this by effects of climate change in long critically important. This folder concen­ adopting a Water Resources Policy. term water resources planning. trates on public water supply because of We will: its importance as the dominant consumptive use in the Region. • Promote the full use of existing water resources by encouraging There are six water companies “water grid” connections and the responsible for supply across the Region conjunctive use of reservoirs, river covering the 14 main supply areas shown abstractions and groundwaters. in the map.

1 KEY ISSUES d) Balance between Abstraction This folder summarises the areas and the Environment The strategy gives rise to a number of discussed in the Region’s Water This document foresees abstraction key issues on which the NRA welcomes Resources Strategy Document increasing by up to 25% over the views from organisations and individuals which is a consultative document next 20 years, concentrated in six concerned about water and the from which the Region’s Strategy rivers and located at or near tidal environment. will be finalised in 1993. limits in four (Test, Itchen, Medway, Stour). In the other two (the two Rothers) abstraction will WHAT DO YOU THINK? a) Demand Management be balanced by reservoir storage or Demand management measures, groundwater. Against this, We would like to hear your views particularly domestic metering and significant reductions in abstraction on any of the aspects contained in reduced leakage, are proposed as the from R. Darent, Nailbourne, this folder. If you would like a copy first steps before major new Wallop Brook and possibly R. of the main Strategy Document resources schemes are developed. Hamble and R. Meon will please write to: The NRA believes that the costs contribute towards better aquifer involved are finely balanced, but management and provide Mr G A Burrow there are long term benefits for the environmental improvements. Principal Water Resources Officer environment which have not yet National Rivers Authority been quantified. e) Funding Alleviation Works in Guildbourne House Low Flow Catchments Worthing West Sussex BN 11 1LD b) Regional Self-Sufficiency This will require considerable future This document proposes a policy of investment and raises the question developing indigenous resources of how this work should be funded. by 31st December 1992. before calling on long distance transfers from the North and West, because of the high cost and energy f) Re-use of Water consumption involved. In future the NRA will look to less marine disposal and greater inland treatment of effluent, with the c) Level of Service of possiblity of re-use through Public Woter Supply downstream abstraction near the The current drought has tidal limit. Discharging treated demonstrated that resources effluent as far upstream as possible designed for a one in 50 year will enhance the resource potential drought can withstand a more of rivers without increasing the severe event, subject to restrictions overall level of abstraction, but on water use. The NRA believes it because of the geography of this would be inappropriate, for reasons region the scope for re-use of of environmental impact and cost, to effluent will be limited. NRA adopt a more stringent design criterion from now on. Use of National Rivers Authority metering would reduce the g) Education incidence of restrictions by virtue of There is no doubt that great savings Southern Region reduced demand, particularly peak can be achieved through careful use demands. of water in homes, industry and Regional Office agriculture. The NRA is uniquely Guildbourne House Chatsworth Road well placed to raise public aware­ Worthing ness, and aims to target the young. West Sussex BN11 1LD (0903) 820692 Printed on environmentally friendly paper. The moioi fibrous content is mode from Bogosse - sugor cane residue previously burnt os waste October 1992 Water Companies in Southern Region on our television screens. This has led the NRA to review the balance between abstraction and the environment in times of drought and this is reflected in the regional strategy.

Drought Year Recharge In a one in 50 year drought (a drought so severe it is likely to occur only once in every 50 years), the Region receives about 100mm of effective rainfall. The present total level of abstractions amounts to more than 90% with public PRESENT WATER USE DROUGHT water supplies amounting to 50%, as illustrated in the diagram. The total quantity of water abstracted in The drought of 1988-1992 has had a 1989 from freshwater rivers, reservoirs significant effect on water supply in the and underground sources for public South East due to the combination of CLIMATE CHANGE water supply, industry and agriculture, four successive dry winters and amounted to 2,680 Ml/day. This intervening hot, dry summers. This has a Recent international concern regarding represents 30% of the net rainfall particular impact in Kent where high global warming has been taken into received in an average year and 52% of dependence on groundwater is combined account through examining: the 1989 net rainfall. with especially low winter rainfall. • Demands for water in the home and the environment. The current drought has been, and Existing public water supply sources continues to be, as severe a test of • Water resource yields. NRA Southern Region groundwater resources in Kent as any • Low energy means of balancing this century. supply and demand. It has focused attention on the conflicting needs for water. Dried up river beds have become a familiar image

Effective rainfall and water use- NRA Southern Regioi

(mm) Effective Rainfall KEY TO WATER USE in Average Year I Industry including Cooling 300 Low Flow Rivers I Fishfarming & Watercress The NRA has identified 40 rivers in CD General Agriculture Unoccounted For 250 _ England and Wales where low flows are □ Commercial Unmetered a problem caused partly or mostly by EH Commercial & Industrial Metered I Domestic abstraction. Six of these are in Southern 200 _ Region.

Effective Rainfall in River Darent, Kent. 150 _ 1:50 Drought Year

Little Stour, Kent. Water Use in 1989 Wallop Brook, Hampshire. 100 _ Direct Abstractions , Hampshire. 50 _ , Hampshire. Public Water Supplies , Hampshire.

2 NPA tlx

Water metering priority areas

W. H ot w.c.

Mid S s s s t i W.C. S.W.S. S .1M I Div Weil

High

Medium

------NRA Southern Region Boundary I I bw

----- — Southern Woter Services (Supply) ond Water Companies Already melered

SOUTHERN REGION • Demand management: leakage The extent to which demand RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT reduction and domestic metering. management measures are pursued will • Transfer of internal regional surplus in practice be determined by economic STRATEGY to areas of deficit. and financial considerations as well as environmental issues. The NRA expects The NRA’s proposed sequence of water • Construction of new schemes in cost savings which accrue from the resource development from now on puts Southern Region. postponement of major capital schemes demand management first and envisages • Transfers from other parts of the will be set against the cost of a general sequence: country. implementing such measures. This issue is still developing and as a better understanding of the savings in consumption resulting from metering is obtained, so the significance in terms of postponing new schemes will become clearer.

The various elements already discussed have been brought together in the larger map, with other major new trunk mains. Underlying all is a presumption that unaccounted for water is reduced to a ‘good’ housekeeping level and that domestic meters have been installed before new source developments proceed.

The NRA’s view of priorities for metering is indicated on the smaller map, which divides the Region into High, New links ond Sources Medium and Low categories. Timescales lOTestwood 11 Brood Oak Reservoir associated with these would be roughly Increased use of Existing Links l?Hardham ond Sources 13 River Ouse at Borcombe within five years, within ten years and 14 NRA Test Groundwater Augmentation after ten years. 15 Crawley Effluent or Alternative Supply Groundwater Augmentation 16 Hovont Thicket Reservoir 17 Chillerton Reservoir ENVIRONMENT AGENCY

089563 DEMAND GROWTH NRA Southern Region 1990 demand forecast

Downturn in Demand

From 1969-1989 public water supplies grew by 55%. 1989 marked the start of a pronounced downturn which has continued into 1992. The factors contributing to this are: • The general economic downturn. • Hosepipe restrictions. • Drought publicity and public awareness. • Reduced leakage as a result of water company activity. • Domestic metering (on the Isle of Wight).

These have resulted in a level of Maximum Growth Projection based on consumption equivalent to the early Actual Demand (IX per Annum) analysis o( domestic 1980's. We do not yet know how rapidly consumption (Herrington) it will recover.

Factors Influencing Growth The NRA believes that opportunities to We assume that the water companies Demand increase over the next few influence the trend will emerge through will achieve the targets they have set for decades will depend on the following demand management measures. Early reduced leakage by 1996 and keep down factors: results from National Metering Trials in at least to those levels thereafter. the UK indicate that this could be very • The level of general economic significant. Also shown in the diagram is the total activity. reliable yield of sources currently • Population growth and household Regional Demand Forecast available, 1,500 Ml/day. This reliable size. The 1991 Water Resources Act puts a yield is assessed on the basis of a drought duty on the NRA to manage water that occurs only once in 50 years. It can • The method of charging for water resources. Hence the NRA forecasts be seen that this is reached by the year services and the price level adopted. future demand for water periodically to 2005 by the upper line, but not until well • Water consumption of household ensure all needs will be met and that after 2011 by the ‘best estimate’ line. appliances and their level of resources are properly allocated between ownership. the companies. The most recent forecast This overall regional balance does not • Number of new houses built. for public water supply, which includes tell the full story however, because: industrial supplies, was published in - Peak demands must be taken into • Gardening habits. 1990 and is shown in the diagram. account, particularly in • The extent of any new large water groundwater dependent areas. using industrial sites, such as power The upper line represents continuing - The Region is long and narrow and stations. growth as in the past and is the NRA’s estimate of the maximum likely demand. it is not economical to transfer water • Levels of leakage from distribution The lower line represents the best over great distances by pumping. systems and consumers’ plumbing. estimate of growth based on the more • Climate change. analytical approach to household water The diagram also illustrates the signifi­ use devised by Paul Herrington of cance of reduced leakage, which is built Leicester University. into the forecast in the period up to 1996.

3 FUTURE OPTIONS Water use in the home The NRA has a duty to ensure future public water supply demands are met in the least damaging manner to the environment. It is imperative that future increases in abstraction are kept to the lowest possible level needed to meet legitimate water supply needs. These must be located in those catchments best able to sustain the new load with the i t least environmental damage. 1000 Litres 114 Litres 80 Litres 30 Litres

DEMAND MANAGEMENT Garden Sprinkler 1 hour Washing Machine cycle Bath Shower Demand management measures can be applied to water used in the home, industry, agriculture and both public The effect would be to reduce the overall SUPPLY MANAGEMENT water supplies and private abstractions. increase in demand for public water Experience in other countries has shown supplies to three-quarters of the amount AND DEVELOPMENT that pricing is an effective spur and this required without metering. As far as managing the supply side is can be reinforced by appropriate concerned, it is possible to identify two byelaws. In the longer term it is likely that stages in order of priority: consumers who are metered would adopt more economical water using Examples of more economical use of • Securing optimal use of existing habits as a way of life and would demand water are provided by: resources. the more economical water using • W.C. cisterns having a