We are at an exciting time in water resource management for the WRE region, with the most ambitious plans to maintain a secure supply of water for people and businesses, whilst also protecting and enhancing the environment. In order to meet these challenges, water users are considering a range of solutions to meet their water needs, from building reservoirs and water supply schemes to more innovative solutions looking to optimise systems or improving water use efficiency. Looking forward, we aim to discover, collate and understand the opportunities that exist across the region. The more options we can consider, the more resilient our plan will be.
We’re interested in ideas from all water users, from agriculture, energy and industry to environmental organisations, IDBs, water companies and more. Every option is valuable; whether you have an early-stage concept or a shovel ready scheme, we are keen to hear from you. Even the smallest schemes could add up to significant water savings. Sharing your ideas on water resources, demand management, and leakage services will help shape the next Regional Water Resources Plan for Eastern England due in 2029.
Through the regional plan we aim to:
- Identify key challenges and opportunities
- Define the scale of solutions needed
- Track progress towards implementation
- Foster collaborations informed by shared problem characterisation
For more detail on our approach, please see this page on: The regional planning process
How It Works
Submit Your Option – Use the form below to send us details of your proposal.
Current Window – This Call for Options is open until March 2026. Engaging during this period will help inform Water Resource Management Plan (WRMP) programmes and ensure holistic assessments, including evaluations of how water optimisation can benefit all catchment water users.
Option Review – Submitted options will be screened for feasibility, before being entered into the WRE inventory of options. These reviews will be conducted by a panel of cross-sector experts who will evaluate proposals based on technical analysis, environmental impact assessments and stakeholder consultations. All assessments will follow a structured and fair approach, ensuring transparency while maintaining the confidentiality of submissions.
The review criteria will consider:
- Water availability
- Water resource reliability
- Security and resilience of proposal
- Environmental considerations
- Local network constraints
- Licensing requirements
- Quality of water
Open call – After initial modelling is complete, submitted options will continue to inform regional plan-making. This is not the final opportunity to contribute, and ongoing engagement will refine future assessments.
Feedback – We will keep you updated on the progress of your submitted scheme through the review and modelling processes.
Sharing ideas – Not all options will necessarily become part of the regional plan as individual solutions, but bringing together related approaches could help address challenges at the appropriate level of impact, whether locally, across catchments or regionally, to form the building blocks of a regional plan. This approach also opens up opportunities for support and funding. WRE will help water users shape ideas that contribute to broader goals, whether or not they fit directly within formal planning.
Water company links
Our member water companies are continuously looking to explore and identify new option types that could be taken forward to be developed in their Water Resource Management Plans. These align with the WRE Regional Plan, but focus on the water company resource zones only.
If a submission to this Call for Options is likely to support a water company’s future water needs, these may be considered for further evaluation through the formal review process used by water companies. If so, you will be contacted for further discussion. Alternatively, you can submit bid proposals directly to a water company for independent assessment.
Successful water company bids – whether identified through the Call for Options or directly applied – will be included in the WRE Regional Plan options inventory. Unsuccessful bids will still be assessed by WRE to evaluate whether the option may meet wider water needs.
To submit a bid directly to the water companies, please see:
- Affinity Water – Bid Assessment Framework (PDF)
- Anglian Water – Water Resources Market Information
- Cambridge Water – Water Resources Market Information
- Essex and Suffolk Water – Water Resources Market Information
