Economic prosperity and the health of the water environment are both at risk in the east of England unless water scarcity challenges are addressed as a matter of urgency, This is the key message from Water Resources East’s (WRE’s) first ever long-term water resources plan – a multi-sector, collaborative effort to achieve resilient water supplies and a thriving natural environment in the region. The plan calls for water to be used much more efficiently in the driest part of the UK, backed by new policy commitments from government to help all households and businesses use less water. 

WRE’s Regional Water Resources Plan for Eastern England – now finalised following a draft plan published for consultation last year – highlights that the region faces projected water shortages of 800 million litres of water per day by 2050, equal to a third of current regional water use. This water deficit is being driven by an urgent need to take far less water from over-abstracted rivers and groundwater sources, high levels of population and economic growth, and the changing climate. Action is needed now, otherwise increasing water scarcity will constrain agricultural production and curtail economic and housing development, as is already the case in parts of Cambridgeshire. Planning approvals for thousands of homes, new commercial buildings and research facilities are already on hold due to a lack of available water. 

  • In the period to 2030, WRE’s plan focuses on further improvements in leakage, reducing water demand within existing homes and buildings, and encouraging new development to be as water efficient as possible. Everyone has a role to play in reducing the amount of water they use as well as the government and local councils in implementing tighter water efficiency policies. By the late 2030s, demand management and leakage control need to reduce the region’s water needs per person by around a fifth. 
  • To complement this, new and more sustainable sources of water supply need to be fast-tracked. WRE’s plan includes two major new reservoirs now proposed for near Chatteris in the Cambridgeshire Fens and near Sleaford in Lincolnshire. Together these will store 100 billion litres of water. Both projects hope to receive planning approval in the mid-2020s and be ready for construction in 2029, so that they can enter service in the mid to late 2030s. WRE’s final plan also includes a new pipeline to transfer supplies from Grafham Water to Cambridge to help alleviate pressures on sensitive chalk rivers and support growth. A new winter storage reservoir is also planned in north Suffolk by 2040. 
  • In the longer-term, the region will likely need desalination plants on the coasts of Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Essex. Whilst an energy-intensive process, only desalination offers the potential to bridge the remaining supply-demand gap due to the lack of other viable options in the region. 

If demand for water can’t be kept in check, or the new supply-side options like transfers and reservoirs encounter delays, then the region will need to be supplied by more and larger desalination plants. A decision to commission the first of these could be needed in less than five years’ time depending on the trajectory of water use in the region between now and then. 

In addition, decisions by government are needed now on the individual water resources plans that have been submitted by the four water companies serving the region (Anglian Water, Essex & Suffolk Water, Cambridge Water and Affinity Water). These have been informed by WRE’s regional-scale plan, and together call for investment of £15 billion between 2025 and 2050. Early approval of these plans by ministers would unlock the first five years of investment and help de-risk their delivery. 

WRE’s regional water resources plan also highlights significant water scarcity challenges for farming, industry and the energy sector in the eastern region: 

  • Farm businesses in some parts of the east may have to reduce their abstraction of water from current sources by more than 60% to protect the environment. Following recommendations in WRE’s draft plan of 2022, the government committed at the UK Farm to Fork Summit in May 2023 to help farmers and local water abstractor groups to explore and invest in alternative sources of water supply.  
  • Industrial users of water, for example for paper and chemical production, pharmaceuticals, and food manufacturing, are also at risk of losing their existing water supplies. A change in legislation under the Environment Act means that from 1st January 2028, even permanent abstraction licences can be revoked without compensation if necessary to safeguard the environment. Water-intensive industries in high-risk catchments need to plan for such a scenario now. 
  • Energy companies need to assess the availability of water when considering where to invest in new ‘green hydrogen’ production facilities as part of the transition to net zero. Developers shouldn’t simply assume that abundant supplies of freshwater for electrolysis will be available. But there may be opportunities to co-invest with water companies as they bring forward their new supply options. 

WRE’s independent chair, Dr Paul Leinster, said today, “The east is a key economic region of the UK attracting significant inward investment in life sciences, data centres and green hydrogen. But this growth is at risk unless we all work together to conserve and protect the precious water resources in an already water-stressed region. That is why WRE’s Regional Water Resources Plan is so important, as it sets out how it is possible to protect and improve the health of river and groundwater systems across the east whilst achieving economic and housing growth and a vibrant agri-food sector. 

“At its heart, this is an environmental plan for the east. WRE supports the highest ambition for improving chalk streams and groundwater aquifers, given only 8% of waterbodies in the region are in good health at present. Our plan shows how to reduce abstraction by half a billion litres of water per day, almost a quarter of current use, whilst achieving greater resilience in water supplies for businesses and the growing population. 

“Today’s publication marks the end of the first round of regional planning by WRE under the National Framework for Water Resources. Government has already confirmed there will be a second five-year round, leading up to revised investment plans and decisions in 2028. WRE’s cross-sector board and team look forward to working with regulators, local councils, internal drainage boards, representatives of the farming and energy sectors, environment groups and others with an interest in water resources as we continue to develop, revise and improve our proposals from January next year. 

“This is just a first, albeit important step in the planning process. There is much more to do to ensure everyone has reliable access to the water they need in the east in the changing climate.” 

To find out more about WRE’s Regional Plan visit http://www.wre.org.uk/the-regional-plan. The plan will be formally launched at a webinar on Thursday 14th December at 2pm (register to attend here).