Southern Water Drought Order could “devastate” River Test, WildFish tells Hearing

Today, a Planning Inspectorate Hearing will consider Southern Water’s application for a Drought Order on the River Test. 

WildFish objects to Southern Water’s application for a Drought Order that would see the company continue taking water from the River Test when flows have dropped to dangerous levels. Southern Water is also applying for a Non-Essential Use Ban (NEUB) in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, which WildFish does not object to.

The River Test, which is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), is one of England’s precious chalk streams, commonly regarded as the country’s equivalent of coral reefs and rainforests. Chalk streams support a highly sensitive ecological system that requires healthy flows of clean water for invertebrate and fish life to thrive.

In our objection letter, we say that Southern Water’s proposed plan is “defective” and does not fully address the potential harm to the river. By lowering the water level, abstractions can lead to low flows, resulting in a host of problems for wildlife. Not only can lower water levels prove deadly to wild fish, but they also mean that sewage, chemicals, and other dangerous pollutants present in rivers are not diluted as much, leading to even worse build-up of toxins. 

In today’s session, the Planning Inspector will hear evidence from the objectors including Justin Neal, Head of Legal at WildFish, who will speak at the hearing. They will also hear from the water company, the Environment Agency and Natural England. The Inspector will then send their recommendation to Defra. 

Today’s hearing follows an almost identical application for a Drought Order last year. We were the sole objector to take part at the subsequent one-day hearing; the application was later withdrawn. We obtained the 2025 report from the planning inspector, which was critical of the application.

Justin Neal, Head of Legal at WildFish, said: “Southern Water could have put in place temporary use and Non-Essential Use bans earlier to help reduce demand, but it delayed. We do not object to the NEUB application.

We object to the Drought Order application for the reduction of the Hands-off Flow – a protection that prevents water being taken when river levels are running low. If approved, the Drought Order risks having a devastating effect on the river and its ecology. The river could take years to recover.

Southern Water could have potentially avoided having to apply for a Drought Order if it had properly invested in long-term supply measures such as building new reservoirs and increasing water recycling. 

In any event, if the order is approved, the compensation and mitigation package proposed by Southern Water will do little to alleviate the damage caused to the river”. 

Nick Measham, Chief Executive at WildFish, said:

“It is extremely frustrating to spend our time objecting again to a Drought Order because Southern Water has failed to do its job properly. We understand how serious drought is for people as well as the environment and we have some sympathy for water companies when they have done all they can to reduce demand, deal with leaks, and provide long-term alternatives. This regrettably is not the case here. 

Southern Water promised in 2018 that it would use all best endeavours to provide alternative solutions to abstracting water from the Test beyond safe limits. However, little progress has been made and we will now be lucky to see any meaningful alternatives before the mid-2030s – nearly a decade late. This is a delay the River Test and its endangered salmon cannot afford”.

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