Bristol Water Plc and Wessex Water Services Limited Consultation

Overview

We are seeking your comments on an application to vary five licences for the purpose of restoring sustainable abstraction in the catchment and ensuring amenity flows through Malmesbury.

The Environment Agency is giving notice of these applications, in accordance with Section 37 and Section 51 of the Water Resources Act 1991) and Regulation 6 of the Water Resources (Abstraction and Impounding) Regulations 2006.

Why your views matter

The licences each authorise abstraction for the purpose of public water supply and/or augmentation of the River Avon and its tributaries from groundwater sources around Malmesbury, Wiltshire.

Bristol Water have applied to aggregate the quantities authorised for public water supply through licences 17/53/006/G/006, 17/53/006/G/007 and 17/53/006/G/008. The proposal is to reduce aggregate quantities from 22.2 mega-litres per day, 7,830 mega-litres per year to 12.1 mega-litres per day, 3,753 mega-litres per year respectively. Individual licensed quantities will remain unaltered.  Control will be based on a local groundwater level which may restrict aggregate abstraction to 9.79 or 8.29 mega-litres per day on a 30 day rolling average.

Wessex Water Services have also applied to vary their licences 17/53/001/G/410 and 17/53/001/G/203. These licences presently authorise abstraction for public water supply and augmentation from ten locations around Malmesbury (refer to the table below), subject to specified flow conditions as measured by Environment Agency flow gauging stations on the River Avon and tributaries.

¹ Dependent on the amount of stream support occurring

² Aggregate

¹ Aggregate

What happens next

We need to decide whether we grant or refuse what the operator has asked for. We do this by looking at the information provided in the application. We also look at any comment recieved from other organisations and the public.