Updating the determination of water stressed areas in England

Feedback updated 1 Jul 2021

Results updated 1 Jul 2021

Introduction

The purpose of this consultation was to gather people and organisations’ views on the revised approach on determining areas of serious water stress in England.

A lot has changed since the last time the water stress determination was updated in 2013. The National Framework for water resources and water companies’ water resources management plans were published in 2020. Using the latest data from these plans has improved our understanding of water resources needs. This includes the impacts of climate change, pressure on the environment and how to meet the challenges they create.

We have used your responses to this consultation as part of our decision making for our revised approach. We wrote to the Secretary of State with our advice on water stress and he determined the following areas will be classified as areas of serious water stress: 

• Cambridge Water
• Portsmouth Water
• South Staffordshire Water
• Severn Trent Water – excluding Chester zone
• Veolia Water
• Wessex Water
• South West Water – Bournemouth
• South West Water – Isles of Scilly

This will allow the water companies to target those areas of greatest need and provide greatest potential benefits by using their water efficiency measures

 

How we ran the consultation

We consulted on the determination of areas in serious water stress in England for 4 weeks from 11 February to 11 March 2021 on our consultation platform Citizen Space and GOV.UK website. We consulted on the following documents:

• Water Stress Consultation
• Appendix 2 - Longer Term Environmental Water Needs Enhanced Scenario
• Appendix 3 - Assessment of Water Stress Methodology

We promoted the consultation through direct email correspondence and workshops with water companies, other regulators and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

We received online responses from the consultation on Citizen Space, by email and post. We have listed those respondents who agreed for their names to be published in Appendix A (page 20 of the consultation response document).

We received 54 responses in total. Of these responses, 28 were from individuals, 9 were from water companies, 8 were from environmental groups and charities, 7 were from public or nationally representative bodies and 2 were from businesses.

 

Summary of key findings and actions we will take

We received broad support for the approach and results contained in the consultation on water stressed areas. However, many suggested that all water companies should be allowed to roll out water meters. This would require legislation. The Government will make no changes to existing rules around when people can be charged for their water use through water meters. Water companies in seriously water stressed areas may implement wider water metering programmes, where it is shown within their Water Resources Management Plans that there is customer support and it is cost effective to do so. This means there will be an increase in the number of areas where this can happen. 

Following your consultation responses, we tested the sensitivity of the results to the risk that planned reductions in leakage and per capita consumption would not be achieved. These tests did not change the final classification. Our consultation response document includes details of what we did.

Some respondents felt that we should give enhanced protection for rivers such as chalk streams and salmon rivers. We agree the importance of these environments and the method we have used has accounted for this. As a result, all areas with principal chalk streams have now been determined to be areas of serious water stress. Salmon rivers were also included in the assessment.

 

Next steps

We have published the updated determination of water stressed areas in England at the same time as this response. We will amend our water resources management plan guidance so that it provides the information on the process water companies are expected to follow in response to which areas are now determined as seriously water stressed and therefore must consider compulsory metering in their plans.

Individuals who wish to follow up their responses, or points made within this document, in more detail are welcome to contact us Water_Company_Plan@environment-agency.gov.uk.

Files:

• Updating the determination of water stressed areas in England: consultation response document, 1.5 MB (Office Word 2007 XML document)
• Water stressed areas – final classification 2021, 1.4 MB (Office Word 2007 XML document)

Links:

• Consultation outcome: Determining areas of water stress in England
• Policy paper Water stressed areas – 2021 classification

Published responses

View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.