Southern Water’s Drought Plan is “defective”, says WildFish

Southern Water has proposed its draft Drought Plan 2027-2032, which outlines how the company plans to deal with a future drought in Sussex, Kent, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

WildFish has reviewed the proposals. We think they have not taken on board criticism of their approach to drought by the inspector from last year’s drought order hearing. We think the Plan will inevitably mean more exploitation of the River Test and the River Itchen. 

Our concerns, which we’ve submitted as part of a consultation response, accuse Southern Water of “poor management of water resources”, making it more likely to have to take water from precious chalk streams to meet demand. 

We also found “little evidence” the utility company has complied with legal requirements to implement long-term schemes quickly enough  for alternative water resources. We also believe that Southern Water needs to start taking steps to ban non-essential use.

Click the button below to read our consultation response in full below: 

This consultation response is our latest water resource work to help protect chalk streams from a worrying trend: mismanaged water companies which favour relying on taking water from our rivers instead of properly planning ahead. 

It’s also the latest action in holding Southern Water to account. Last summer Southern Water submitted a Drought Order application for the River Test, which would have allowed the water company to take more water in low flows for public supply. 

But Southern Water withdrew its application after a one-day hearing in which WildFish (the sole objector taking part), argued that the water company did not need the Order and that its assessment of environmental damage and compensation was inadequate. The inquiry process also uncovered a number of shortcomings in Southern Water’s preparedness.

Justin Neal, Head of Legal at WildFish, says:

“We are presently in a time of water stress. While the pumps keep abstracting water from our precious streams, we need proper long-term solutions and restrictions on use, not reactive measures like drought orders and permits to take more water. That is why Southern Water needs to be providing a Drought Plan for the future which is pro-active and puts protection of the environment at its heart”.

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