WRE reports positive progress but extra challenges from new growth ambitions

Water resources planning for agriculture is now underway in earnest, according to the first annual progress report from Water Resources East (WRE) on its December 2023 Regional water resources plan for Eastern England.

That was among the many positive messages conveyed about the plan’s first year (see below), albeit much more action is needed to accommodate growth, build climate resilience and balance supply and demand in eastern England sustainably in the decades ahead.

In particular, WRE noted that the Government’s ambitious growth plans and associated planning reforms suggest there could be a level of growth “well above the amount of housing assumed in our core plan” (though this is considered in the adaptive ‘high consumption’ pathway).

On non-household growth, WRE said a lack of available water resources is already severely constraining growth in eastern England, with new connections for non-domestic water use now routinely limited to 20,000 litres per day. The report explained: “This is insufficient for water intensive businesses such as meat processing, food and drink manufacturing, green hydrogen, datacentres and giga factories.”

There are some exemptions for Cambridge, given the Government’s specific growth targets there. But wider constraints are set to continue until new supply schemes become operational.

WRE said its work to develop a second regional plan is already underway, albeit the timetable and funding for its multi-sector remit is still to be agreed. It listed among its priorities for 2025: further environmental investigations; supporting the innovative solutions being identified through Local Resource Option studies; further progress on strategic infrastructure projects; scaling up smart metering and water efficiency programmes; continued engagement with the energy, navigation, leisure and industrial sectors; and influencing key policy initiatives including through the Cambridge Water Scarcity Group.

Alongside its report, WRE launched a new interactive data dashboard that presents water company historic performance and future plans against a range of water consumption, leakage and other demand-side metrics.

Developments in the last year included:

Agriculture

• Significant studies are now underway to support agricultural water resource planning, thanks to new funding from the Environment Agency (EA). This has facilitated pilot Supply-Demand Balance Assessments in the Cam & Ely Ouse catchment and the initiation of 12 Local Resource Option scoping studies across the eastern region, helping groups of farm businesses to explore innovative water resource options and build long-term plans for the future. 

• WRE secured funding from the EA to ensure agricultural representation on its board, provide technical expertise for agriculture-related studies, and co-fund with water companies detailed environmental investigations in key catchments. It said this dedicated focus on agriculture ensures that the needs of the farming community are integrated into its broader water resource management strategies and plans.

Public water supply: 

• Household water consumption fell to a record low of 134.7 litres per head per day, due to water company action to roll out smart metering, bring more customers onto a metered tariff, and implement behaviour change initiatives. 

• Leakage decreased, although some regulatory targets for 2025 may be missed. Essex & Suffolk Water achieved the lowest leakage per property in England in 2023/24 with Anglian Water and Cambridge Water not far behind. WRE said progress should accelerate as smart meters are rolled out, but longer-term improvements remain reliant on more expensive and disruptive mains pipe replacement programmes. 

• Three of the four water company Water Resources Management Plans in the WRE area were approved by the secretary of state. Anglian’s plan includes reservoirs in the Fens and Lincolnshire. Design work for Lowestoft Reuse, the North Suffolk Reservoir and the Suffolk Strategic Network is also underway.

• PR24 final determinations were very positive for delivering WRE’s plan, including development funding for strategic schemes, and funding for the smart meter rollout. WRE noted, though, that Cambridge Water’s water efficiency programme was “significantly under-funded”. 

• Supply-demand balance: Cambridge Water’s overall supply-demand balance was theoretically ‘in deficit’ in 2023/24. A joint regulators’ letter called for urgent action to be taken; Cambridge Water has responded. More widely, all new requests for more than 20m³ water per day (0.02Ml/d) for non-domestic use are now being carefully assessed and rationed in the Anglian and Cambridge areas. 

Environment: 

• Abstraction reforms are being implemented to protect sensitive environments. Approximately 20 permanent abstraction licenses impacting the health of the Ants Broads & Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest were modified in October 2024. Further reviews and changes are anticipated with the pace of reform likely to accelerate in 2025.

• WRE has commenced a programme of detailed investigations to explore the best ways to improve the region's water environments for the long term including through the use of catchment and nature-based solutions. Pilot investigations, supported by funding from Anglian Water and the EA, are underway in the Cam & Ely Ouse and East Suffolk catchments. 

Policy:

• WRE is taking an active role in the Government’s Cambridge Water Scarcity Group that is helping to accelerate action to secure more water for growth. The groups share a chair in Dr Paul Leinster CBE.

• The group said it expects the new mandatory water efficiency label for taps, toilets, showers and appliances to be introduced by the end of 2025, but the anticipated consultation on tighter water efficiency standards in new development has slipped. 

• The review of water fittings regulations to prevent leaky loos, and drinking water regulations to allow communal non-potable household supplies, have also both been delayed.