Severn Trent Water Plc one of C&G Services primary customers is looking to ease the drought ridden region of East Anglia
A plan to flow water from the Midlands into the drought-hit East is under consideration by water company bosses at Severn Trent and Anglian Water.
30 million litres of raw water per day - enough to supply 100,000 homes in the Anglian Water region - could be transferred 80 miles from Birmingham to Gainsborough under the Severn Trent Water scheme.
David Essex, water strategy manager for Severn Trent said “Technical discussions are underway and this could happen as early as June. We will soon be able to confirm if we are in a position to be able to help our neighbours while having enough to keep our own customers in supply.”
Simon Love, head of drought response at Anglian Water, said: “We are talking to Severn Trent about this idea, and it’s one that we are taking seriously. We are exploring a number of options to help support the drought-hit region, including the movement of water across water company boundaries.
“In the short term, though, it’s vital that everyone takes steps to save water in the home. Large-scale support like this scheme could help, but even if we are able to make it work, it won’t mean we can cancel this summer’s hosepipe ban.”
The scheme is being explored under the auspices of the Collaborative Drought Planning Group, alongside Water UK. Any final proposal would need to be ratified by the Environment Agency before it would be put into operation.
Much of the east of England has been in drought status since summer 2011, with the area at risk of drought expanding to include most of the south and east of England, and now including parts of Yorkshire.
Severn Trent Water has been taking steps over the past months to make sure there is enough water across the region and said it is not currently predicting any usage restrictions this year.
Over the last six months Severn Trent has focused on moving raw water supplies across its water ‘grid’ from the wetter West to the drier East to balance out regional supplies. Careful water resources management from river and ground water sources, including the development of a new over-land pipeline at Draycote Reservoir has also helped to strengthen the system.
A hosepipe ban came into force in the Anglian Water region on April 5th, for the first time in 20 years. This follows the driest 18 months in over a century in the Anglian Water region. Anglian Water successfully applied for two drought permits over the winter to help maintain levels in Rutland and Pitsford reservoirs, having also invested £120million to make better use of water across the region since April 2010.
David Essex added: “This project could be a sign of things to come, as water becomes scarcer and needs to be moved around the country.”
(Article taken from Severn Trent Water Plc news)
