Essex & Suffolk Water customers in the Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft area are being invited to have their say on the company’s plans to provide a reliable and sustainable supply of water to them over the next 40 years.
Every five years the company develops a water resources management plan which sets out it how it will continue to provide what it says is a reliable and sustainable supply of water to its customers.
A draft Water Resources Management Plan 2019 has been produced, which covers a 40 year period from 2020 to 2060. Essex & Suffolk Water is now seeking comments and feedback on the plan before it is submitted to the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs for approval.
Martin Lunn, head of technical strategy for Essex & Suffolk Water said: “Our new draft plan is a key document as it forecasts how much water we will have to supply to our customers, taking into accounts things like possible future droughts, climate change and the need to protect the environment.”
The draft plan also forecasts how much water customers will need over the 40 year period, taking into account future population growth.
By comparing supply and demand forecasts, Essex & Suffolk Water has confirmed that it will have reliable and sufficient supplies of water to meet customer demand over the planning period.
The company says it already has one of the lowest leakage rates from its water pipes in the country but is also planning to reduce it further by 17.5pc between 2020 and 2025.
Mr Lunn said: “We must ensure that we are using water efficiently in order to ensure that we have sufficient supplies in future.
“An important part of this is helping our customers reduce the amount of water they use, and reducing leakage from our water pipes. I encourage customers to read our draft plan and let us know what they think of them during the consultation period.”
The consultation on the Water Resources Management Plan 2019 is open until Sunday, May 27.
The draft document and details on how to respond to it can be found at www.eswater.co.uk/your-home/water-resources-management-plan-2019-consultation.aspx
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