Water companies across the South East have outlined how they will keep taps flowing with water in the future.

Anglian Water, Folkestone and Dover Water, South East Water, Southern Water, Sutton & East Surrey Water, Three Valleys Water and Portsmouth Water have all published their draft Water Resource Management Plans.

The plans look at three key ways of making more water available:

• Making better use of existing resources
• Managing customers' demand for water
• Developing new resources

In all the draft Water Resource Management Plans there are a range of options contained within these three headings. These are the ones that each water company believes it must be able to deliver over the 25-year-period from 2010, to make sure there is enough water for customers, now and in the future.

The range of options includes compulsory metering in some areas, greater leak detection and water efficiency, as well as building more interlinking pipelines and possibly three new reservoirs across the region. These plans also take into account factors such as housing growth, increased water usage and climate change.

In developing these plans all the water companies have worked with the Environment Agency to decide the most sustainable options that will provide the extra water that is needed.

But why do water companies need to plan so far in advance? Well, large scale new resources, such as reservoirs, can take 10 to 15 years to plan, gain permission for and actually build and fill.

We also need to make sure that this important infrastructure is in place before the planned additional homes are built across the region.

Our planning processes
Our planning process never stops.  Our last plans for water resources were published in 2005 and schemes described in that plan are being implemented now.

All water companies have submitted their latest draft Water Resource Management Plan under a new statutory process.

Your views on our suggested options for future water resources are important to us. Your opinions matter to us, because it is you we are providing the water for.  What do think of our plans?  Companies want to hear from consumers, so have a look at the plans and send in your thoughts or comments.

Timetable
Public Statutory Consultation on draft WRMP and review of comments	Summer 2008
Final direction on draft WRMP from Secretary of State	Early 2009
Publication of final WRMP	Summer 2009

The options developed in the final plan will then form the basis of a Business Plan which all water companies submit to the industry regulator, Ofwat, in 2009.  This business plan will deal with the period 2010 - 2015. 
To read about your water company’s future plans, click on the appropriate logo below: