Water resource planning and the statutory process

Every five years water companies in England and Wales are required to produce a Water Resources Management Plan.

The plan sets out how water companies aim to meet predicted demand for water over the next 25 years, ensuring sufficient water supplies are available to meet customers' needs.

In May 2008 we published our draft plan for the period 2010 to 2035. Following a 16-week public consultation on our draft plan, we published a revised draft plan in September 2009.

The plan consists of several elements, including:

  • A 25-year demand forecast describing how much water customers will need in the future, considering factors such as climate change and population growth;
  • A 25-year supply forecast describing how much water is available for use now and how this may change in the future, considering the impacts of climate change and potential sustainability reductions;
  • An assessment of the options to manage demand, including installing water meters at customers' properties, helping customers to be more water-efficient, and reducing leakage;
  • An assessment of the options to obtain more water, such as groundwater and surface water schemes.

Developing our plan

In developing our preferred programme, we considered the environmental, social and carbon impacts of schemes (reported in Volume 5).

We also undertook a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) which aimed to assess the state of the environment, consider the potential impacts of the draft plan on the environment and consider alternatives which may have fewer impacts (reported in Volume 6).

The structure of our plan

Our Water Resources Management Plan is made up of six volumes:

Volume one Overview of our draft plan
Volume two Our plan
Volume three Appendices to our plan - e.g. climate change and demand forecast 
Volume four Supply demand tables
Volume five Best Practicable Environmental Programme (BPEP):
Assessment of alternative schemes
Volume six Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA):
Environmental Report and Addendum 

Also in this section

Step-by-step guide to developing our plan
Revised draft plan and key documents
Public inquiry
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