Havant Thicket reservoir: Controversial plans for water recycling facility take another key step forward
A recycled water project has taken a step forward
A controversial plan to pump recycled water into the new Havant Thicket Water Reservoir has passed a critical milestone in the planning process.
Today the Planning Inspectorate has confirmed that Southern Water’s Hampshire Water Transfer and Water Recycling Project has been accepted for examination as part of the Development Consent Order (DCO) process. This means it can now formally look at the proposals and make a decision.
The £1.3bn project would involve treating and cleaning wastewater at Budds Farm Wastewater Treatment Works in Havant before it being used to top up the new reservoir being built by Portsmouth Water in partnership with Southern Water.
The project is part of Southern Water’s plans to transform the way it treats, sources and supplies water for the fastest-growing population in the UK, amid a warming climate while also helping protect the county’s precious chalk streams by reducing the amount of water that needs to be taken from them.
Ben Ring, Managing Director for Capital Projects, said: “This is an important step forward for the Project, which will play a vital role in securing water for our customers and protecting the environment.
“While this is not the final decision, it reflects the significant amount of work by our team, our suppliers, stakeholders and regulators that has gone into developing a robust and deliverable proposal.”
As previously reported by The News, work is well under way to build Havant Thicket Reservoir which will be the first major new UK reservoir built in over 30 years. It will have the ability to supply drinking water to both Portsmouth Water and Southern Water customers as needed, with Bedhampton Springs being its primary source for water.
If the new scheme is approved it will treat wastewater before pumping it to the reservoir in a proposal which attracted widespread concern during earlier consultation phases with the community.
While the reservoir plan was in general welcomed, many reservations have been expressed about the water recycling plan, with concerns the technology is not proven in the UK as well as a lack of confidence in Southern Water.
But the water company has said that the need for new sources of supply is especially acute following the warmest Spring on record and during the current heatwave, which has reduced the amount of water flowing through Hampshire’s River Test by 258 million litres a day in just two weeks.
The River Test, River Itchen and the aquifers that feed them supply water to more than 800,000 people across Hampshire. But these rare and sensitive chalk stream habitats are also home to a wide variety of wildlife, it said. To protect and enhance these rivers, the amount of water that can be taken from them for public supplies has been significantly reduced in line with environmental regulations.
These reductions, alongside pressure from population growth and climate change, mean that Southern Water has a current shortfall of 166 million litres of water a day in Hampshire during a drought and this is set to rise to 200 million litres a day in the future.
It says that the Hampshire Water Transfer and Water Recycling Project is a key part of Southern Water’s long-term resilience plans, alongside new reservoirs and pipelines. These new sources are critical to keeping taps and rivers flowing across the region, especially during drought.
The Government’s Environment Secretary will make the final decision on whether to allow water recycling with a formal consultation period expected to take place and a with a final decision made a year later.
The new water reservoir at Havant Thicket is expected to be operational and fully open to the public in the 2030s.