Research and analysis

A summary of England’s revised draft regional and water resources management plans

Updated 5 December 2024

Applies to England

Executive summary 

In England, our climate is changing, our population is growing, and as a nation we want an improved environment along with a thriving economy, enabled by resilient water supplies. Action is required now to meet these objectives. 

The scale of the challenge we face increases with time and, by 2050, we are looking at a shortfall of nearly 5 billion litres of water per day between the sustainable water supplies available and the expected demand. This is more than a third of the 14 billion litres of water currently put into public water supply. The deficit has risen in the revised draft plans due to updated demand forecasts, additional reductions associated with protecting and improving the environment, and better representation of the baseline supply position without drought measures included. 

Some customers are already facing issues. In parts of Sussex, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk, housing and business growth have been affected, as there already is not enough water. We also have concerns, following recent droughts, that some water companies’ supplies are not resilient enough. The latest water resources management plans produced by water companies are critical for society, setting out efficient solutions that give value and reassurance to customers. Once finalised, the effective delivery of these plans will be extremely important to ensure sustainable growth. If delivery is unsuccessful, we will face growing water supply deficits. 

Following consultation on draft water resources management plans, water companies have now published statements of response and revised draft plans. These statements build on the draft plans and include changes in response to consultation feedback, and an update to the guidelines following policy and legislation changes. The revised draft plans have significant improvements and mark a key milestone before plans are finalised. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has written to companies individually about next steps for their water resources management plan, with many requiring further actions before the plans can be finalised. 

These plans are a positive step forward as, upon implementation, they should: 

• improve resilience to extreme droughts 
• ensure we are prepared for the future impacts of climate change 
• serve a growing population and thriving economy 
• mark a transition to longer term planning to protect and improve the environment 

The regional plans also take the first steps towards accounting for the needs of sectors beyond just the public water supply. This is absolutely vital given that water underpins our food and energy security as well as many other industries. 

The success of ensuring the nation’s future public water supply will depend upon a twin-track approach: delivering new supplies of water; and reducing water demand, by improving water efficiency and reducing leakage. Many new supply options will take at least 5 to 10 years to deliver, therefore significant and urgent action is required to design, plan, and build these.  

Demand reductions are crucial, particularly in the short term. The Environment Act 2021 sets a target to reduce the use of public water supply in England, per head of population, by 20% by 2037-38 from the 2019-20 baseline. The current revised draft water resources plans would deliver a 22% reduction in water use per person by this time. This has increased from the 17% in the draft plans and reflects the increased ambition by companies in their revised plans, showing the industry has embraced the new water demand target. Government will be looking to water companies to act quickly and take significant steps forward on installing smart meters and delivering on their wider water efficiency commitments and reducing leakage. This will happen alongside the introduction of a mandatory water label which will enable water efficient decisions across the country. The government has also committed to review water efficiency requirements of building regulations which will be a key action to ensure new homes are water efficient. 

Currently around 60% of household properties are metered in England. Most of these meters require a physical visit to record consumption. These visits generally happen once or twice a year, limiting understanding of household water use. We, the Environment Agency, are therefore asking water companies to stop installing these types of meters and instead rollout smart meters which capture daily and sub-daily usage data. This rapid and essential transition needs to be prioritised. We expect all water companies to start installing smart meters from 2025, and to replace the current basic meter stock. Ofwat also set out its expectation that water companies consider smart meter solutions as the standard meter installation type through its final methodology for PR24. Smart meters will unlock potential for customers to better understand their water use, where they can save water and enable many water efficiency activities. Smart metering will also help to identify leakage within the network and on customers’ own properties. We also expect water companies to rollout smart meters for business users, working in conjunction with retailers. 

The government is seeking a 9% reduction in non-household (business) water consumption by 2037-38 from 2019-20 levels as part of delivery of the water demand target. Currently the revised draft plans achieve a reduction of 6.1%. This is a marked increase in ambition from draft plans but falls short of the 9% reduction sought. Water companies are now planning for a step-change in smart metering for non-households. As this is delivered over the coming years, we expect the industry to explore what further activity can be taken to stretch water demand reduction in businesses to the 9% sought by 2037-38. Key actions to help to ensure effective delivery on business demand reductions have been set out by the Retailer Wholesaler Group’s Water Efficiency Roadmap. 

The water industry’s revised draft plans have collectively adopted long term targets on reducing leakage and per-capita consumption. Action by the water industry, government, and across society, will be crucial to effectively meeting these targets. However, the Environment Agency is concerned around the delivery of demand reductions, given recent widespread challenges in achieving planned reductions on household water consumption. Delivery risks need to be well considered and mitigated by water companies as they finalise plans. Notably, water companies have assumed significant growing benefits from government interventions, including the mandatory water efficiency label. This aligns with, and reflects, the importance of government policy delivery and the need to monitor its effectiveness. 

Whilst smart meters will help us save water by ensuring households and businesses use water wisely and through reducing leaks, this will not be enough. New supplies are needed and decisions about these need to be made now. Water companies and regional groups have reviewed a large and varied number of options locally, regionally and nationally to find best value solutions. They are planning a far larger round of investment to protect water supplies now, and in the future, than past water resources plans. We can expect to see far more supply options being progressed over the next 10 years than we have seen for a generation. The completion of Havant Thicket, England’s first new reservoir for over 30 years is expected by 2030 and will be proceeded by many other new supplies in the 2030s. The revised draft water resources management plans contain proposals for multiple new schemes by 2050. This includes the following larger schemes, which will each individually supply 10 million litres of water per day (Ml/d) or more including: 

• 4 new desalination schemes​ 
• 7 new reservoirs​ 
• 5 new water recycling schemes 
• multiple new internal and inter-company transfers to share resources - see figure 9 for a map

The inclusion of options such as desalination and water recycling mark a transition to new supplies that are independent from rainfall. These options are well established elsewhere around the world and expected to be an important step in ensuring resilient supplies in a changing climate. Some supply schemes selected in the draft plans are no longer required as ambition on demand management has increased. Furthermore, this summary does not currently include Southern Water’s supply options given the company is reconsulting on its revised draft plan later this year. We do anticipate further schemes supplying over 10 Ml/d, including water recycling and desalination, associated with this plan. 

The decisions around the delivery of multi-billion pound water infrastructure schemes taken in these plans will be critical to securing water supplies for generations to come, marking a shift towards investment in long-term water resources resilience. The 2025-2030 period will be vital for reducing uncertainty around the scale of need and completing detailed design and planning of the new supply options. We expect the water industry to already be taking steps to prepare for, and enable, the effective delivery of their plans. 

The government’s Plan for Water sets out that the best way to manage supply pressures is to take an integrated approach across the whole catchment. We expect water companies and regional groups to play a key role to align in the development and delivery of this approach further in the future. 

Over the next 25 years, there are significant uncertainties and risks. It is essential that these plans are robust enough to effectively manage these risks. The industry has embraced adaptive planning to tackle these key uncertainties, including those associated with environmental needs, growth and demand levels, as well as the impacts of climate change. Delivery of plans must also be closely monitored and tracked against targets and commitments. This will allow early action to adapt where necessary and, address any potential problems. 

This document provides an update to the Environment Agency’s summary draft water resources plans, following review of the revised draft water resources management plans and the statements of response on regional plans. It highlights key improvements made following draft plans.

1. Introduction 

Water is essential for life, and the drought in 2022 reminded us how important secure supplies are for society, the economy, and the environment. The country is experiencing more extreme weather, more often. In 2022 we experienced the hottest summer on record for England and the driest since 1995. The heatwave generated high demand with some water companies struggling to supply their customers. They had to resort to tankers to top up their networks and, in extreme cases, supply bottled water. This is clearly not acceptable and signals the need for increases in drought resilience. As our climate changes, we need to plan for more extreme events like this. 

One of the duties of the Environment Agency is to secure the proper, efficient use of water resources in England. Our national framework for water resources, published in 2020, explored England’s long-term water needs. It set out the scale of action needed to make sure resilient water supplies are available to meet the future needs of users across all sectors. It also outlined the principles, expectations, and challenges for regional water resources groups to produce regional plans. 

In autumn 2022, both water companies and regional groups shared their draft plans for public consultation. Following consultation, companies and regional groups have produced a statement of response, setting out changes being made to plans to address consultation responses. Most water companies and some regional groups have also produced revised draft plans. These plans together should meet the national water supply needs and the aims of the national framework for water. They are briefly set out below. 

Regional water resources plans 

The 5 regional water resources groups have produced new plans that cross water company boundaries and work with other sectors to ensure optimum solutions to securing future water supplies and environmental resilience. These plans include adopting a long-term environmental destination to protect and improve water environments of the region. The regional plans are the result of notable work and collaboration across the regional group members, and mark a step change to strategic water resources planning. Water Resources East finalised its regional plan in late 2023. We are anticipating that other regions will finalise their plans during 2024. 

Water resources management plans (WRMPs)

Water companies have a duty, every 5 years, to produce plans which set out how they will continue to supply water in their supply area over at least the next 25 years. 

WRMPs are required to be consistent with the regional plans, where relevant. The regional plans have been reconciled between the five regional groups to ensure that interregional proposals are considered consistently. As a result, there should be alignment nationally on strategic solutions to meet England’s water needs. Regionally planned water resource solutions feed through to the water company-scale plans that set out how public water supply needs will be met. 

This report summarises the revised draft WRMP, and regional plan information, reviewed by the Environment Agency. It describes the Environment Agency’s views of how these plans meet the aims of the national framework for water resources and government’s expectations. It sets out: 

• the quantity of additional water forecast to be needed for public water supply over the next 25 years 
• the measures water companies are planning to take to reduce demand and the new schemes they plan to build to supply additional water 
• the next steps for water companies and regional groups including delivery and monitoring 

Water companies and regional groups are adapting their plans in response to the consultation responses on draft plans. The figures and the options set out in this report reflect the revised draft plans. All information remains subject to change, as the statutory WRMPs are not yet finalised. Notably, some water companies are on different timelines meaning their WRMPs are likely to be finalised later. Southern Water will be reconsulting on a revised draft WRMP later this year and South West Water reconsulted on a revised draft last autumn. As a result, we have included the options set out in South West Water’s revised draft plan but have not included Southern Water’s supply options.

2. A step forward in ambition 

The current round of plans show a significant increase in water companies’ ambition for drought resilience and improving the environment. Below, there are some significant successes in the WRMPs that should be applauded. 

Drought resilience 

By 2040, or earlier, water companies are planning to be resilient to a drought return period of 1 in 500 years, although, there remains near-term resilience concerns for some companies. The National Infrastructure Commission’s ‘Preparing for a drier future’ report, has shown that investing in improving our resilience to drought is far more cost-efficient than the alternative cost incurred to society, and the environment, as a result of severe droughts. 

Demand management ambition 

The water industry committed to reducing leakage by 50% and to reduce per capita consumption to 110 litres per person per day by 2050. The plans show water companies have made a very significant step towards this ambition. Across the WRMPs and regional plans, there is a 50% reduction in leakage from the levels planned for 2017-18. Some of this has been delivered or is expected to be delivered before 2025-26, the first year of these WRMPs. Planned per capita consumption is 108 litres per person per day, although there is variation. This assumes significant benefits from government policies. If delivered, the revised draft plans would achieve targets nationally. 

Long-term planning for the environment 

Water company and regional plans are now trying to achieve sustainable abstraction and protect the environment from climate change over the next 25 years and beyond. These plans include action to protect England’s precious and unique Chalk Stream habitats. This is a major improvement from previous rounds of planning, helping to ensure best value long term investment in new supplies where needed. The revised draft plans have reflected consultation feedback, and some improved evidence around environmental risks and potential licence reductions. Overall, the revised draft plans now propose to protect the environment sooner, and further reduce abstractions that pose a risk to the environment. 

Climate change 

Adapting to, and mitigating climate change, is a significant challenge. Water companies’ plans are designed to adapt to the changing climate and also set out how they will contribute to the industry commitment of being net zero in carbon by 2030. 

Natural capital 

For the first time across water companies, natural capital assessments have been used to inform their plans. This means that the costs and benefits to society and the environment are better accounted for in decision-making. 

Adaptive plans 

Most water companies and regional groups have put forward adaptive plans which means they are more flexible and resilient to future uncertainties. This is critical given the complexity involved in water resources planning, and risks around some aspects of both the WRMPs and regional plans. 

Regional planning 

For the first time, regional plans have been produced across the country. These plans reflect how water companies are thinking more strategically about solutions, considering the needs of other sectors beyond public water supply.

3. How much water do we need? 

3.1 Overview 

Regional groups and water companies have used the assessment approaches set out in the water resources planning guideline, to identify the water needs across England by developing demand and supply forecasts for at least the next 25 years. These forecasts account for population growth, economic development, climate change and drought resilience, as well as the need to protect the environment in the future. Each of these elements has resulted in a quantifiable impact on the volumes of water available. These are discussed further in section 3.2. 

Without action, the revised draft plans indicate that by 2050 the nation’s public water supply will face a shortfall of over 4,800 Ml/d. This is the collective deficit faced across all water companies in England. This has risen from 4,000 Ml/d in the draft, due to revised forecasts of demand, additional reductions in abstraction to improve the environment, and better representation of the baseline position without drought measure benefits. Specifically: 

• around 430 Ml/d additional need is associated with water companies appropriately removing the benefits from drought measures and water transfers that are not yet contractually agreed from their baseline supply forecasts. These should be considered as options 
• around 250 Ml/d reflects additional reductions associated with improving the environment, representing the latest evidence of environmental risks from abstraction 
• around 300 Ml/d additional need is associated with a higher baseline demand forecast, using the latest revised growth forecasts and higher baseline per capita consumption assumptions 

The full list of drivers is set out further in section 3.2. 

Regional groups and water companies have published plans of how they will tackle this problem, and ensure sustainable public water supplies over the next 25 years and beyond. Regional groups have also considered the needs of other water sectors and have taken the crucial first steps to incorporate these into regional plans. 

3.2 Deficits and drivers impacting water needs 

The national baseline supply-demand balance can be seen in Table 1. This is the forecast future gap between water supplies and demand if no additional actions are taken to mitigate the changing water demand and available supplies. It sets out the water available to water companies, without further action (beyond the current 5-year asset management period that ends in April 2025) or any reliance on drought measures, against their forecast future demand. The expected deficit between supply and demand is 4,860 Ml/d in 2049-50 in the revised draft plans. This is split by region in table 2.

Table 1: Total public water supply demand deficit in England at intervals up to 2050 in Ml/d (sum or surpluses and deficits)

Water company total	2029-30	2034-35	2039-40	2044-45	2049-50
Total deficit	-1460	-2170	-3040	-3890	-4860

Table 2: Total public water supply demand deficit by region group at intervals up to 2050 in Ml/d (sum or surpluses and deficits)

Regional plan	2029-30	2034-35	2039-40	2044-45	2049-50
East	-228	-357	-383	-709	-769
North	-149	-163	-226	-336	-347
South East	-876	-1213	-1703	-1955	-2511
West Country	12	-40	-147	-180	-202
West	-214	-392	-585	-710	-1032

There are marginal differences between regional level and national level data, partly as a result of rounding differences, and differences in reporting regionally and across water companies.  

The main drivers of the current round of WRMPs are the following.

Improving resilience to droughts – 755 Ml/d 

Water companies were required to improve their resilience to droughts by achieving resilience to extreme 1 in 500 year droughts by 2040. This level of resilience means that by 2040 the use of emergency drought options such as standpipes will not be needed unless there is an extreme drought (with a 0.2% annual chance of occurring).   

Climate change impacts on supplies – 642 Ml/d  

This water is needed to replace water that will be lost to impacts from climate change on water supplies. Water companies are expected to forecast how climate change will affect their sources of water now, and in the future.  

Growing population needs – up to 1,180 Ml/d  

Water companies must assess how housing development, population and water-use by households will change. They will need to ensure water supplies can be maintained to meet these growing needs. This figure accounts for the water that forecast additional populations would require for supply, assuming they have average levels of water use at the start of planning period. This is in addition to the existing population base. 

Business growth needs – 144 Ml/d 

Water companies must also assess how water use by businesses will change. We understand that this is likely to be an underestimate, as it does not fully incorporate additional needs from the energy sector, including for hydrogen production, carbon capture and storage. Furthermore, there is an emerging and growing need for water for data centre cooling that could lead to additional water demands.   

Protecting and improving the water environment – 2,828 Ml/d 

This significant driver of need is largely to address existing unsustainable abstraction pressure. This includes both near-term obligations, to reduce abstraction to protect and improve the environment, and longer-term reductions. Investigations over the next 5 years will be vital to increase certainty of the scale of reductions required. To support the intent of the government’s Environmental Improvement Plan, the water industry must take a longer-term view of sustainable abstraction. This longer-term planning is known as the ‘environmental destination’. This approach will help drive cost efficient water resources solutions and avoid environmental damage before it occurs. Taking this approach means that the WRMPs and regional plans now reflect long term sustainable water availability over a 25-year period. In previous planning rounds, water companies were notified about upcoming changes to their licences in the next five years only.  

These drivers total an additional need for water of over 5,000 Ml/d. When these are incorporated in water company plans, the revised draft plans show a baseline deficit of 4,860 Ml/d. The sum of the drivers is greater than the supply demand balance deficit. Local surpluses of water help reduce the overall deficit nationally, although in many cases this still requires some investment to build infrastructure for appropriate transfers to use these surpluses effectively. Water companies have made varying assumptions on the levels of water use of new populations and the timing of environmental destination. There are some changes over time to specific components which will counter some of the impact of the drivers detailed previously. 

There is considerable variation in future water needs across water companies and regions. Table 3 and figure 1 show the future needs forecast at a regional level, split out by driver. The greatest need for water by 2049-50 is for Water Resources in the South East, followed by Water Resources West.

Table 3: Breakdown of drivers of 2050 water need, split by region, stated in Ml/d

Draft regional plan	Climate change impact to supply	Environmental destination total	Demand from household population growth	Demand from non-household (business) growth	Drought Resilience	All drivers combined
East	72	496	179	47	72	867
North	122	119	122	24	118	504
South East	245	1423	549	79	387	2683
West Country	41	194	89	-12	13	327
West	162	597	241	5	164	1170
Total	642	2828	1180	144	756	5550

Data analysis by the Environment Agency using adjusted revised draft water resources management plan data. 

Note: these figures are approximations based of interpretation of data submitted for the Regional Plans and revised draft WRMPs. This does not reflect the supply demand balance deficit, but rather additional water required from baseline of 2025 to meet key policy objectives.

Figure 1: The breakdown of drivers of 2050 water need, split by region, impact stated in Ml/d

Draft regional plan	Climate change impact to supply	Environmental destination total	Demand from household population growth	Demand from non-household (business) growth	Drought resilience	All drivers combined
East	72	496	179	47	72	867
North	122	119	122	24	118	504
South East	245	1423	549	79	387	2683
West Country	41	194	89	-12	13	327
West	162	597	241	5	164	1170

3.3 Environmental destination – a better protected future environment 

We all rely upon a healthy and protected water environment and in particular, for resilient water supplies. The government seeks to improve this, as set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan. Previously, water resources planning has not sufficiently considered the long-term needs of protecting the environment in the context of climate change and population growth. A longer-term approach ensures that plans account for how long it takes to put in place alternative water supplies, so that damaging abstraction can reduce or stop. This updated approach puts the environment at the heart of plans alongside other future water needs. 

The previous 5-year view did not fully capture the likely future need, which significantly limited delivery of environmental improvements, and made it harder for water companies to find cost effective solutions to ensure their operations are environmentally sustainable. Using the 25-year horizon to assess and plan for sustainable abstraction better reflects the true environmental requirements. As there is greater uncertainty when looking further ahead, regional groups are planning for a range of possible futures both above, and below the core pathway that the plans focus on. 

The most acute environmental water resources needs are in the East (WRE), the South East (WRSE) and the West (WRW) regions, but environmental needs also have a major influence on the West Country’s (WCWR) plan. In the North (WRN) the environmental need is less acute, but there are some catchments where significant abstraction reductions to protect the environment must be planned. Figure 2 shows the geographical spread of abstraction reductions to protect the environment proposed in revised draft WRMPs. 

The largest needs correspond to areas with higher population density, where water demand has outstripped the sustainable capacity of local catchments. These are also the areas where finding new sustainable sources of water is most difficult. Long-term planning under the environmental destination is therefore a major consideration in identifying where strategic solutions are likely to be required (see section 3.3 for further details). Water companies and regions have received very strong feedback to increase ambitions on their environmental destination from a wide range of customers and stakeholders. We expect further changes which will influence the timing and selection of options. 

The limited scope of planning for environmental needs in the past has resulted in issues today. New supply infrastructure can take 5-10 years to develop and deliver, in some cases longer. By planning ahead, we avoid short term, sub-optimal solutions for long term needs. In Sussex, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk, housing and business growth are being constrained because growth in abstraction would risk environmental damage and contravene environmental laws. These issues will become more widespread if we do not act now and work together to reduce demand and prevent abstraction growth in environmentally sensitive areas. Successful delivery of water resources plans is essential. 

The environmental destination includes over 500 Ml/d of abstraction reductions that must be made now. These are included in the Water Industry National Environment Programme for implementation by 2030. Alongside this are many changes where the need is proven, but where a solution is not available before 2030. These changes will be implemented when a solution is available. There are some areas where there is uncertainty over the scale of abstraction reduction that may be needed to protect the environment. For these areas, water companies will carry out investigations to assess the need for, and options to resolve abstraction pressures. This will significantly reduce the remaining uncertainty in the environmental destination numbers and support the aim of finding the best solutions for people and the environment.

Figure 2: Map showing the density of deployable output (water supply) reductions associated with abstraction licence reductions to deliver the environmental destination

This is presented per water resource zone across each regional group, normalised by the size (area) of the water resource zone. Data has been sourced from the water company’s revised draft WRMP24 data tables.

4. How will this deficit be solved? 

Water companies have long been encouraged to look at ways of reducing demand, while looking for new sources of water. The latest rounds of revised draft plans reflect this twin-track approach, with almost two thirds of the water needed in 2050 coming from reductions in demand. Specifically, 48% of water will come from using water more efficiently and metering. A further 17% of water will come from reducing leakage. The remainder comes from new supply options such as reservoirs, desalination, water recycling and upgrades to water treatment works. Figure 3 shows the relative distribution of option groups in the revised draft WRMPs. More detail on the types of options included for metering and water efficiency, leakage and supply are provided in Sections 4.1 and 4.2.

Figure 3: Breakdown of the benefits in 2049-50 of revised draft WRMP selected options, split by different option groups, stated in Ml/d

This excludes drought measures, levels of service changes and transfers, to specifically reflect new sources of water from supply and demand options. 

This figure reflects the option benefits stated for the preferred options reported by water companies in their revised draft WRMP data tables. For an England-wide view, Southern Water draft plan data has been included here but will change through re-consultation later this year. All the data remains subject to change until water companies finalise their WRMPs.

Option	Customer options	Distribution options	Production options	Resource options	Grand total
Selected	2489	891	99	1708	5186

4.1 Demand options 

Reducing demand plays a major role in addressing the public water supply deficit across the planning period. By 2049-50, reduction in water consumption and leakage is expected to address over 65% of the supply demand balance deficit across England. Some further benefits are forecast from demand restrictions during drought. 

Demand management has a significantly more important role in the first 5 to 10 years of the plans, before many of the large supply schemes can be delivered. 

Water companies play a key role in demand management. They are expected to have robust and deliverable programmes for reducing leakage and supporting household and business customers to be water efficient. Water company action will sit alongside important government policy interventions for driving water efficiency, set out the in the Plan for Water. If the forecast demand savings are not delivered, we risk implementing more frequent drought measures to maintain supply resilience. 

 Demand reduction associated with government policies 

In September 2023, the government confirmed that, following its public consultation, water efficiency labelling will be made mandatory by 2025. This means most products associated with water use in the home will be subject to a water label, enabling customers to make choices around the water efficiency when purchasing products. 

Furthermore, the government has also made many other key commitments in its Plan for Water 2023. This includes some important policies for the WRMPs: 

• develop minimum product standards for showers, taps and toilets 
• review the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 and other relevant legislation to address wasteful product issues and enable new technologies 
• review the Building Regulations 2010, and the water efficiency, water recycling and drainage standards 

Water companies have made significant changes to their WRMPs to include or update assumed benefits from government policies, following the key announcements during 2023. Nationally, water companies expect government policies to save over 1000 Ml/d of water by 2050. This reflects the significance and importance of these policies, including the launch of mandatory water labelling.

Figure 4: Benefits assumed from government water efficiency policies across water company revised draft WRMP24 plans, from 2025 to 2050, stated in Ml/d

Year	Benefits
2025-26	9.532105
2026-27	37.09422
2027-28	53.69679
2028-29	72.28413
2029-30	91.20088
2030-31	119.2054
2031-32	149.636
2032-33	180.6531
2033-34	215.4434
2034-35	256.004
2035-36	316.1285
2036-37	378.3406
2037-38	445.7777
2038-39	513.778
2039-40	582.4725
2040-41	642.6671
2041-42	706.5709
2042-43	771.053
2043-44	828.0214
2044-45	881.4875
2045-46	914.0658
2046-47	946.719
2047-48	979.9319
2048-49	1013.416
2049-50	1046.671

Leakage 

Key options to reduce leakage include: 

• active leakage management 
• the renewal of both trunk and non-trunk mains pipes 
• pressure management 
• other leakage controls 

Other leakage controls include: 

• options that are part of Ofwat’s innovation fund 
• leakage savings from combining district metered areas (network areas) 
• improvements in leakage associated with metering coverage 
• deployment of network sensors and acoustic loggers 
• pipe-lining technologies 
• options to repair or replace customer supply pipes 

Some companies have reported leakage option bundles which have been classified as other leakage controls, with further detail available in water company plans.   

Figure 5 shows the types and contributions of the leakage options proposed by the water companies.

Figure 5: Benefits of leakage option types selected in revised draft WRMPs by 2049-50, stated in Ml/d

Option type	Benefit
Active leakage management	289
Mains replacement (not trunk mains)	265
Other leakage control	266
Pressure management	40
Supply pipe repairs or replacement	125
Trunk mains renewal or new	119

Note: this reflects the data submitted by water companies through their revised draft WRMP data tables. Due to the volume of data received from companies in the revised draft WRMP datasets, we are unable to verify that every water efficiency and leakage option has been categorised correctly and consistently.

Water efficiency 

Key options to reduce water consumption include: 

• smart metering 
• household and non-household water audits 
• provision and retrofitting of water efficient devices 
• initiatives to enable individual and community-based rainwater harvesting 
• partnerships with developers to improve water efficiency of new properties 
• targeted programmes on internal leakage including leaky loos 
• use of digital engagement tools including the Get Water Fit platform 
• water efficiency customer education and engagement in homes, schools and businesses 
• community award schemes and tariff changes to incentivise water efficient behaviours 
• forecast reductions to consumption from anticipated government policies including changes to household building standards, the introduction of a mandatory water efficiency appliance labelling 
• specific measures that decrease water use in the garden such as water butts 
• targeted non-household consumption reduction measures that are not metering or water audits 
• forecast impact of water neutrality on consumption where this is applicable 
• mandatory water efficiency labelling (making up the majority of the other water efficiency category benefits presented in figure 6) 

Figure 6 shows the types and contributions of the water efficiency options proposed by the water companies. Smart metering has significant benefits directly attributed to it. It will also be an important enabler for all water efficiency and most leakage reduction options proposed in the plans.

Figure 6: Benefits of water efficiency option types selected in revised draft WRMPs by 2049-50, stated in Ml/d

Note: smart metering is expected to be the standard meter from 2025-26 and the metering benefits stated here reflect the direct benefits from smart metering in company plans.

Option type	Benefits
Household water audit	103
Metering change of occupancy	5
Metering compulsory	140
Metering optants	40
Metering other selective	265
Non-household water audit	243
Other water efficiency	1179
Tariff	99
Rainwater harvesting	7
Retrofitting indoor water efficiency devices	20
Water efficiency customer education or awareness	160

Note: this reflects the data submitted by water companies through their revised draft WRMP data tables. Due to the volume of data received from companies in the revised draft WRMP datasets, we are unable to verify that every water efficiency and leakage option has been categorised correctly and consistently.

Smart metering 

The rollout of smart water meters is essential to delivering reductions in demand. This applies to both water use and leakage. As with the rollout of energy smart meters, smart water meters would help empower customers by collecting water usage data in near real-time. With the appropriate data infrastructure, this allows water leakage and plumbing losses in properties to be identified in near real time and addressed more quickly such as leak alarms to customers.  

Smart metering provides customers with insights into how much they are using, and the impact small steps can have on reducing water use. In addition, accurate smart meter data allows water companies to better identify where water is being leaked from pipes and fix them more quickly and efficiently. Smart meters also help water companies to understand if demand management actions are working and adjust them as a result. 

Government expectations are clear that smart meters should become the standard meter installed for the upcoming WRMPs. It will be important for water companies to ensure that infrastructure is in place to enable the full benefits of smart meters. They must also ensure there is protection for vulnerable customers if their metered bills are likely to increase beyond current levels. This is also an issue for traditional meters. 

The revised draft WRMPs and regional plans include a major step forward with the widespread deployment of smart metering. These plans would see household smart metering increasing from the current estimated 13% to 48% by 2030 and 73% by 2040. For non-household properties (businesses) the plans would increase smart metering from under 10% currently, to 48% by 2030 and 63% by 2040. This can be seen in figure 7. Further details on this can be found in appendix A.  

Following our representations, recent government publications (Plan for Water), and Minister Pow’s letter to all water companies, the number of planned smart meters has increased. This growth in ambition is welcomed. It reflects the major role that smart water meters will have in reducing water wastage in properties and empowers the nation to be more water efficient. It is important that water companies work closely with retailers to deliver this ambition and engage with businesses as non-household smart meters are rolled out.

Figure 7: Percentages of total household and non-households smart metered in the revised draft WRMPs, for the present year and at intervals across the planning period (2023-24, 2029-30, 2039-40 and 2049-50)

Year	Total non-household smart metering penetration (including voids)	Total household smart metering penetration (including voids)
2023-24	10%	13%
2029-30	48%	48%
2039-40	63%	73%
2049-50	65%	76%

4.2 Demand management delivery against targets 

Environment Act water demand target 

The Environment Act 2021 includes a water demand target to reduce the use of public water supply in England per head of population by 20% from the 2019-20 baseline reporting year figures, by 2037-38. This is clearly set out in the government’s Plan for Water and Environmental Improvement Plan. The current revised draft water resources plans would deliver a 22% reduction in distribution input per person by 2037-38 in England. This reflects that the industry has taken account of this new target and included additional activity to achieve it. 

Leakage 

The water industry committed to halve leakage by 2050, against 2017-18 volumes. This was a clear expectation for the WRMPs. Water UK’s Leakage Routemap focusses on delivering this. The revised draft WRMPs collectively forecast a reduction of leakage by 50% by 2049-50 from 2017-18 levels. The leakage ambition ranges from a reduction of 20% to a reduction of 63% by 2050 in the revised draft WRMPs. Detail on planned leakage reductions against water demand interim targets can be found in appendix B. 

Per capita consumption (PCC) 

Water companies are expected to reduce PCC to 110 litres per person per day by 2050. Currently the draft water resources plans forecast a PCC of 108 litres per person per day by 2050 as a national average across the WRMPs and regional plans. This ambition ranges from 110 to 98 litres per person per day across the water company revised draft WRMPs. We understand that companies have taken account of the longer-term impacts of the pandemic on water usage through behavioural changes such as greater homeworking. This impact may require further review in future plans. Detail on planned PCC reductions against water demand interim targets can be found in appendix B. 

Non-household consumption 

The government is seeking a 9% reduction in non-household (business) water consumption by 2037-38 from 2019-20 levels as part of delivery of the water demand target. Currently, the revised draft plans achieve a reduction of 6.1%. This ranges significantly from a reduction of over a quarter, to an increase of 38% across revised draft WRMPs. We expect water companies and retailers to work closely together to support water efficiency in businesses. This should include delivering a more ambitious rollout of smart meters.

4.3 Supply options 

Given the size of the deficit, water companies are proposing more new supply options than ever before. There are around 50 new supply options in excess of 10 Ml/d included in revised draft plans over the next 25 years, set out in appendix C. The types of options which provide most new water are reservoirs, water recycling, desalination and transfers of water between, and within companies. Figure 8 shows the types and contributions of the supply options proposed by the water companies.

Figure 8: Benefits of supply option types selected in revised draft WRMPs by 2049-50, stated in Ml/d

This excludes internal and external transfers as these are not increasing water supply available nationally, but rather moving it from one supply area to another. Many proposed new supply schemes include associated transfers of water. The water resources planning tables instructions includes a brief description of each option type. Southern Water’s supply options are also excluded here as there will be a re-consultation later this year of the company’s revised draft WRMP. We anticipate more supply options in the final plan data, including potential water recycling and desalination schemes associated with Southern Water’s plan.

Supply option	Times proposed
Aquifer recharge or aquifer storage recovery	15
Conjunctive use	50
Desalination	196
Drought permits or orders	109
New groundwater	63
Groundwater enhancement	50
New surface water	129
Surface water enhancement	24
New reservoir	644
Reservoir enlargement	26
New or enhanced pumping station	10
Outage reduction	6
Water recycling	92
New water treatment works	10
Water treatment works capacity increase	68
Water treatment works loss recovery	4
Licence trading	7

Figure 9 shows the relative distribution and size of those options which are proposed in revised draft plans to supply more than 10 Ml/d across the planning period, and strategic transfers 50 Ml/d and above. For further information on options including those below 10 Ml/d, please consult the relevant water company plans. This remains subject to change until plans are finalised.

Figure 9: Water supply options in revised draft WRMPs above 10 Ml/d including those beyond 2050

Note: that this figure does not include options for Southern Water as the company has not released a revised-draft plan yet, but does include joint options involving Southern Water from other water company plans.

Water supply options selection and delivery, progressively provides new supplies over the planning period. This is shown in figures 10-13. Further details of selected supply options over 10 Ml/d are provided in appendix C, including the water company plan it is included within, the daily supply benefit and the planned delivery year.

Figures 10 to 13: Maps showing the progressive planned delivery of revised draft WRMP24 supply options above 10 Ml/d in different periods – 2025-26 to 2029-30, 2030/31 to 2034-35, 2035-36 to 2039-40 and 2040-41 to 2049-50

The maps also include Havant Thicket Reservoir which has planning permission and is under construction now, and South West Water’s options which are planned for delivery before 2025, denoted with an asterisk on Figure 10. Note that these figures do not include Southern Water options.

Figure 10: 2025-26

Figure 11: 2030-34

Figure 12: 2035-39

Figure 13: 2040-49

Transfers 

Transferring water from areas of surplus, or from new supply options, may contribute to a more optimal overall solution, delivering best value for society. The water company plans propose a number of larger inter-company transfers. These include: 

• a bulk supply from Thames Water to Southern Water (120 Ml/d) 
• a transfer of advanced treated water from Severn Trent’s Minworth scheme to the South East via the Grand Union Canal (100 Ml/d) 

There are many internal and external transfers included in draft plans, enabling water to be moved around water company networks and between neighbouring water companies. 

The transfer from the River Severn to the River Thames included in draft plans is no longer selected in the revised draft plans, following a review and increase in demand ambition in the South East and the selection of a larger South East Strategic Reservoir Option. We note this transfer remains as a key alternative option in adaptive plans. 

Strategic resource options 

Some water companies received additional funding to investigate and develop strategic regional water resource options in the 2019 price review final determination. These options mostly feature in the selected supply options described previously. They are expected to play a crucial role in meeting long-term water needs, particularly across the East and South East regions. The Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development (RAPID) was set up to accelerate the investigation and development of strategic resource options. RAPID manages the regulatory input into these new options and their funding and is made up of the 3 regulators Ofwat, Environment Agency and the Drinking Water Inspectorate. Further information can be found on RAPID’s website. The justification for the strategic resource options should be made in the regional plans and WRMPs. See more information on the strategic resource options and the gated process.

5. Multi-sector planning 

An important objective of the national framework in 2020 was for regional plans to take a multi-sector approach. We acknowledge that this is still in its infancy and there is more to be done to achieve that objective. 

The regional plans are expected to: 

• support growth and access to water in their region, across sectors 
• consider the benefits of proposed supply side options to water users, other than public water supply 
• set out what further evidence and work may be required to do this more effectively in the future 
• take a catchment-based approach and consider catchment-based work to improve water management 

All 5 regional groups have, to varying extents, considered non-public water sectors in their draft regional plans. However, planning for these sectors continues to be limited. 

Water Resources South East (WRSE) has taken significant steps to refine its regional forecasts of non-public water supply sectors first set out in the national framework. It has identified and explored potential deficits and included options to address some of these shortfalls within its draft plan. Water Resources East (WRE) has also taken action to understand non-public water supply sector needs, including particularly the agricultural sector. Other groups have not progressed as far but have identified potential vulnerabilities of non-public water sectors and forecasted demands where possible.  

Few options to address any shortfalls have been included within draft regional plans. There is uncertainty around future demands of wider sectors due to a lack of quality data, potential for future licence changes, and funding routes. This has restricted the identification of appropriate non-public water supply options by regional groups. Further engagement is necessary and is being planned by all groups to address this. 

The regional plans largely do not include specific options to support non-public water supply, all the groups have considered how public water supply options could benefit these sectors. As part of the assessment process, the impacts of options on non-public water supply sectors, both positive and negative, are evaluated to ensure that the best value plan considers the needs of all sectors. 

The national framework called on regional groups to take a catchment-based approach and consider catchment-based work to improve water management. Working with stakeholders, WCWR have produced innovative catchment action plans that identify how a catchment approach can be integrated into the regional planning process. The other groups have also engaged with stakeholders to identify catchment actions that could be taken to support water supply and resilient catchments, but these have not yet been integrated with the regional plan. Funding these options continues to be seen as a barrier for adopting a catchment approach and is identified as an area for further investigation. 

The regional plans have not yet fully achieved the initial aim of the national framework to take a multi-sector approach to regional water resources planning. However, significant steps have been made to better understand wider water use, particularly by WRSE, WRE and WRW, but barriers to progress remain. Examples of these barriers include: 

• how to fund planning and solutions for non-water industry sectors 
• challenges of scale and coordination of other water users 
• a lack of long-term water resources planning within other sectors 

We expect the progress in multi-sector planning that regional groups have made to 1be a key focus over the coming years, and into the next round of regional plans for 2029. We also expect strategic resource options to seek multi-sector benefits and wider catchment improvements through their design wherever feasible. Our refreshed national framework for water resources will focus on providing a clear way to improve multi-sector approaches in regional planning.

6. Next steps 

6.1 Timescales 

Following the water company draft plan consultations and publication of statement of responses, most water companies have published revised draft WRMPs and are expected to finalise their WRMP during 2024. A minority of WRMPs may be finalised later than this. Southern Water is on a different timeframe following confirmation that it will be re-consulting on its WRMP in 2024. All water companies require permission to finalise and publish their plans from the Defra Secretary of State. 

We expect regional groups to look to finalise regional plans during 2024. Water Resources East has finalised its regional plan, whilst other regions are looking to finalise regional plans as water companies progress finalising their WRMPs. We expect regional groups to ensure that final regional plans align and reflect final WRMPs. 

6.2 Delivering the final plans 

As plans are finalised, it is critical that there is focus on their effective and timely delivery. These plans mark a step-change in ambition for investment in both reducing water demand and increasing water supplies. 

The WRMPs feed directly into the Price Review 2024 process to establish the funding routes for their delivery alongside other water company activity. Ofwat review water company business plan submissions, and will make a draft determination in June 2024, with final determinations of the business plans expected in December 2024.  

It is imperative that the water industry acts now to prepare for the scale of delivery set out in the water resources plans. Where possible, companies should consider what action can be taken before the 2025-26. This could include activities such as: 

• progressing the design, planning and procurement associated with new preferred supply options where these are required early in the planning period 
• commissioning and establishing appropriate data infrastructure to maximise the benefits of planned smart metering rollouts 
• ensuring staff, skills and technology are in place to upscale leakage reduction programmes 
• preparing to expand water efficiency programmes across homes and businesses using the latest best practice to target and tailor approaches 

Delivery of the plans will be critical to customers and the environment. Reporting against delivery will be important using established regulatory processes, including the annual review of the WRMP. 

6.3 Monitoring and adaptive pathways 

Monitoring by water companies and regulators will be critical once WRMPs and regional plans are finalised. There remains significant uncertainty regarding aspects of these plans including future growth, the impacts of climate change and the level of abstraction reductions required to protect and improve the environment. There is also uncertainty around the impact of government policies on demand. Alongside this uncertainty, these plans include a step change in investment to develop new water supplies and transfers, rapidly reduce leakage and reduce water demand in homes and businesses, catalysed through smart metering rollout over the next 5 to 10 years. 

Given the scale of uncertainty faced, and magnitude of delivery required, many water companies and regional plans have included adaptive pathways to cater for alternative scenarios. Water companies and regional groups will need to regularly monitor and assess the need for adaptation, as uncertainties do or do not materialise. For example, the outcome of environmental sustainability investigations will be critical in informing the scale of abstraction reductions required over the coming years. Furthermore, the levels of population growth and the effectiveness of demand management will determine the scale of new supplies required. The WRMPs include complex, controversial supply schemes. It will be important that water companies and regions can adapt to the outcomes of feasibility assessments and planning processes. 

Companies must carefully monitor the key factors influencing their plans and trigger corrective action in the event of supply scheme delays, or slower demand reductions than forecast. This may mean that feasible alternative supply options need to be progressed to protect customers and the environment. 

We expect water companies and regional groups to track: 

• the overall assessment of supply demand balance risks and the need for alternative options 
• demand management progress including smart metering, per capita consumption, leakage, and non-household demand levels 
• sustainability investigations and abstraction reduction delivery 
• progress with preferred water supply schemes and the availability of alternatives 
• engagement with non-public water supply sectors and progress with associated data collection and refinement 

The regional plans have also highlighted the lack of detail and evidence in particular areas including the needs of non-public water supply sectors. It is critical that regional groups improve evidence and ensure effective engagement with other sectors. This must build on the first round of regional plans to ensure future plans have greater accuracy around needs and more focus on collaborative solutions. 

6.4 National framework 

We will be publishing our next iteration of the national framework for water resources in 2025. The framework will give an updated strategic steer to securing our future national water supplies alongside a vibrant water environment. It will set out expectations for future regional water resources plans and the role of regional water resources groups in water resources planning. This iteration of the framework will particularly focus on securing sustainable and efficient water resources and use across sectors, such as food production, low carbon energy, and public water supply. This will strengthen long-term multi-sector planning alongside improvements to public water supply planning, so that the environment is protected and enhanced, and the nation’s future water needs are secured.