Water Resources Management Plan 2020 to 2080 Strategic Environment Assessment Environmental Report WRMP19 SEA Environmental Report April 2017 1. Background 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.3 Water resources management plan 2019 (WRMP19) 2 1.4 The purpose of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) 9 1.5 Scope of the SEA 10 1.6 Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) 10 1.7 Marine conservation zone (MCZ) assessment 11 1.8 The Water Framework Directive 11 1.9 Structure of the environmental report 13 2. The SEA process 15 2.1 The SEA process 15 3. Relevant policies, plans and programmes 18 3.1 Review of plans, policies and programmes 18 3.2 A Green Future: Our 25 Year Plan to Improve the Environment 20 3.3 Water Industry Strategic Environmental Requirements (WISER) 20 4. Consultation 21 4.1 The purpose of consultation 21 4.2 Pre-scoping and ongoing engagement 21 4.4 Scoping consultation 22 4.5 Consultation on the draft WRMP and Environmental Report 24 4.6 Future consultation 28 5. Key issues, constraints and opportunities 29 5.1 Baseline data and information collection methods 29 5.2 Population and human health 29 5.3 Material assets 33 5.4 Biodiversity, flora and fauna 36 5.5 Water 49 5.6 Climate change 67 5.7 Cultural heritage 69 5.8 Soils and geology 71 5.9 Ecosystem services 75 6. SEA scope and methodology 78 PAGE i WRMP19 SEA Environmental Report April 2017 6.1 Scope of likely significant effects 78 6.3 Proposed SEA objectives 83 6.4 Compatibility of SEA objectives 89 6.5 Method of assessment 90 6.6 Uncertainty and limitations 100 7. Environmental assessment of options and portfolios 101 7.1 Option alternatives 101 7.2 Option development and appraisal 102 7.3 Assessment of portfolios 111 7.4 Do minimum scenario 114 7.5 Scenario comparison 115 7.6 Drought selection 118 7.7 SEA model runs 119 7.8 Demand management (company level) 119 7.9 Sustainability reductions 119 7.10 Developing the WRMP 121 7.11 Ecosystems services assessment 131 7.12 Comparison of dWRMP preferred plan with preferred plan 134 7.13 Summary of reasons for selecting the preferred plan 136 8. Environmental assessment of the preferred plan 137 8.1 Preferred plan options 137 8.2 Components of the preferred plan 143 8.3 Overall preferred plan assessment against SEA objectives 147 8.4 Cumulative effects within the WRMP 164 8.5 Cumulative effects with neighbouring water company plans 174 8.6 Cumulative effects with other plans or programmes 177 8.7 Summary of WFD and designated sites assessments 179 9. Implementation and monitoring plan 183 9.1 Monitoring targets and indicators 183 9.2 Monitoring plan 183 9.3 Environmental action plan for implementation 184 10. Conclusions and summary 194 Glossary 199 PAGE ii WRMP19 SEA Environmental Report April 2017 List of Tables Table 1.1 Our 2015 to 2020 Restoring Sustainable Abstraction programme 6 Table 1.2 Our 2020 to 2025 restoring sustainable abstraction programme via WINEP 8 Table 1.3 INNS programme included within our 2020 to 2025 WINEP 12 Table 1.4 Structure of this environmental report 13 Table 3.1 Key PPP themes and objectives identified from review 18 Table 4.1 Key issues raised in the scoping consultation 22 Table 4.2 Key issues raised in the dWRMP19 consultation 25 Table 5.1 South East Water region human health indicators 30 Table 5.2 International and European wildlife designations* 37 Table 5.3 Key water-dependent priority habitats and species 40 Table 5.4 Freshwater fish types recorded in 2015 43 Table 5.5 INNS and impact on environmental resilience 46 Table 5.6 INNS programme included within our 2020 to 2025 WINEP 48 Table 5.7 ALS definition of water resource availability 52 Table 5.8 ALS definition of water resource availability (groundwater specific) 53 Table 5.9 Catchment water availability 55 Table 5.10 RBMP surface water quality 63 Table 5.11 RBMP groundwater quantitative status and quality status 65 Table 5.12 Links between SEA topics and ecosystem services 76 Table 6.1 Scope of likely significant effects 79 Table 6.2 Draft SEA objectives and proposed criteria 84 Table 6.3 Compatibility of SEA objective 89 Table 6.4 Standard mitigation measures 90 Table 6.5 Identifying the importance / sensitivity of the baseline 92 Table 6.6 Scale of effects 94 Table 7.1 Categorisation of water resource options 101 Table 7.2 Coarse screening results 105 Table 7.3 Fine screening results 107 Table 7.4 Summary of screening and input to modelling 109 Table 7.5 Baseline (i.e. ‘do minimum’ / ‘without Plan’) 115 Table 7.6 Modelled scenarios 117 Table 7.7 SEA objectives scenario comparison 122 Table 7.8 Ecosystem services least cost plan 131 Table 7.9 Ecosystems services preferred plan 132 Table 7.10 Key changes between options in the dWRMP and WRMP 134 Table 7.11 Plan alternative options 136 Table 8.1 Our revised preferred plan by water resource zone 137 Table 8.2 WRMP19 preferred plan by option type 138 PAGE iii WRMP19 SEA Environmental Report April 2017 Table 8.3 Assessment of leakage management and water efficiency measures to be implemented between 2020 and 2070 148 Table 8.4 Assessment of resource zone specific options 149 Table 8.5 Potential cumulative effects associated with pipeline installation and construction of new infrastructure 164 Table 8.6 In-combination effects on landscape receptors 168 Table 8.7 In combination effects on priority habitats 170 Table 8.8 In combination effects on ancient woodland and non-designated habitat types 171 Table 8.9 Potential in combination effects on landscape receptors 177 Table 8.10 SSSIs requiring further mitigation 181 Table 9.1 Monitoring plan 185 Table 9.2 Environmental action plan Including update on WRMP14 190 Table 10.1 Synergies between the Defra 25 year environment plan and our environmental resilience activities 197 Table 10.2 Synergies between the WISER expectations and our environmental resilience activities 198 List of Figures Figure 1.1 Map of SEW supply area Figure 2.1 Stages of SEA alongside WRMP19 development and HRA Figure 5.1 1 Population, cultural heritage and infrastructure context to WRMP options: water resource zone 1 Figure 5.1 2 Population, cultural heritage and infrastructure context to WRMP options: water resource zone 2 Figure 5.1 3 Population, cultural heritage and infrastructure context to WRMP options: water resource zone 3 Figure 5.1 4 Population, cultural heritage and infrastructure context to WRMP options: water resource zone 4 Figure 5.1 5 Population, cultural heritage and infrastructure context to WRMP options: water resource zone 5 Figure 5.1 6 Population, cultural heritage and infrastructure context to WRMP options: water resource zone 6 Figure 5.1 7 Population, cultural heritage and infrastructure context to WRMP options: water resource zone 7 Figure 5.1 8 Population, cultural heritage and infrastructure context to WRMP options: water resource zone 8 Figure 5.2 1 Water context to WRMP options: water resource zone 1 Figure 5.2 2 Water context to WRMP options: water resource zone 2 Figure 5.2 3 Water context to WRMP options: water resource zone 3 Figure 5.2 4 Water context to WRMP options: water resource zone 4 PAGE iv WRMP19 SEA Environmental Report April 2017 Figure 5.2 5 Water context to WRMP options: water resource zone 5 Figure 5.2 6 Water context to WRMP options: water resource zone 6 Figure 5.2.7 Water context to WRMP options: water resource zone 7 Figure 5.2 8 Water context to WRMP options: Water Resource Zone 8 Figure 5.3 1 Landscape and biodiversity context To WRMP options: water resource zone 1 Figure 5.3 2 Landscape and biodiversity context To WRMP options: water resource zone 2 Figure 5.3 3 Landscape and biodiversity context To WRMP options: water resource zone 3 Figure 5.3 4 Landscape and biodiversity context To WRMP options: water resource zone 4 Figure 5.3 5 Landscape and biodiversity context To WRMP options: water resource zone 5 Figure 5.3 6 Landscape and biodiversity context To WRMP options: water resource zone 6 Figure 5.3 7 Landscape and biodiversity context To WRMP options: water resource zone 7 Figure 5.3 8 Landscape and biodiversity context To WRMP options: water resource zone 8 Figure 5.4 SSSI impact risk zones - western region Figure 5.5 SSSI impact risk zones - eastern region Figure 5.6 ALS surface and groundwater availability - eastern region Figure 5.7 ALS surface and groundwater availability - western region Figure 5.8 ALC grades – eastern region Figure 5.9 ALC grades – western region Figure 7.1 WRMP19 screening process Figure 8.1 Preferred plan options: western region Figure 8.2 Preferred plan options: eastern region Figure 8.3 Preferred plan and water environment Figure 8.4 Preferred plan and water environment Figure 8.5 Preferred plan and biodiversity and landscape constraints Figure 8.6 Preferred plan and biodiverstiy and landscape constraints List of Appendices A Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA): screening assessment B Policy, programme and plan review C Water industry strategic environmental requirements (WISER) report D Marine conservation zone (MCZ) screening assessment E Summary assessment matrices F Water Framework Directive (WFD) assessment G Sites of Special Scientific Interest screening assessment H Summary of draft Blueprint asks for PR19 and how these have been addressed in South East Water’s Business Plan I Water industry national environmental programme (WINEP) report PAGE v WRMP19 SEA Environmental Report April 2017 J Baseline and detailed option location plans PAGE vi Non-technical summary Introduction Water is an essential resource for our health and wellbeing as well as the environment.