INTRODUCTION

  Water UK is the representative body of the water and wastewater industry in the UK. The industry is responsible for supplying water and sewerage services to domestic customers.

  New housing development on the scale proposed will have major implications for water and wastewater infrastructure and for water resources.

  The industry is currently entering the periodic water price review process, which sets our priorities for investment, prices and asset management plans.

  Therefore we welcome the opportunity to submit evidence to this inquiry.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

  The issue of affordable and sustainable housing is critical to the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of the nation and its citizens. Water UK welcomes the Government's initiative on this issue, in particular the way in which it is addressing the issue holistically and looking at the challenges from a national perspective. At the same time we are concerned that the Deputy Prime Minister's statement, whilst it refers to the environment in terms of greenbelt preservation and brownfield development, neglects the wider environmental implications of resource availability and the ex-situ environmental impacts of new development.

WATER AND SEWERAGE REQUIREMENTS OF NEW DEVELOPMENTS

  The UK water industry supplies 58 million people, has over 700,000km of water mains and sewers, has more than 2,500 water treatment works and 9,000 sewage treatment works. The maintenance of this infrastructure and the provision of water and sewerage services requires long-term planning and investment.

  On average, each person in the South East uses 150 litres of water per day and generates around the same amount in sewage effluent. Meeting the supply and sewerage needs of 200,000 new houses concentrated in one region of the UK will require detailed planning. However there has to date been no consultation with the industry on this issue.

LONG-TERM PLANNING AND FINANCIAL INVESTMENT

  The water industry is highly regulated. Investment and prices are determined and overseen by Ofwat the financial regulator on a five-year basis, called the Periodic Review (PR04) or Asset Management Planning process (AMP4). Companies submit detailed plans covering both resource and financial management. The development of 200,000 new homes will have a major impact on the implementation of these plans and it is unfortunate that there has not been detailed consultation with the industry on this issue.

WATER RESOURCES

  The UK has less available water per capita than any other major European country, and areas such as East Anglia are becoming semi-arid. Meanwhile the Environment Agency predicts that per capita water consumption over the next 25 years could grow by around 20%, unless there is a shift of public behaviour.

  Water companies promote water efficiency, but in general public recognition of the need for water conservation is low, partly due to the success of water companies in maintaining a secure high quality supply.

  In order to maintain public supply companies have to manage a complex supply-demand balance. The Environment Agency recently published "Water Resources for the Future" which is a 25 strategy for water resources in England and Wales; this highlights the South and East of England as already overstreched in terms of water resources.

  Unless the Government develops a sustainable approach to planning and resources, we will be faced with water shortages or have to consider seriously expensive options such as desalination to meet our water needs.

SEWERAGE SERVICES

  The main area of concern is water supply, however the scale of the house building programme will also have an impact on the sewerage system which is already stressed because of the effects of climate change.

  These additional stresses are due to both the increased volume of sewerage and the increased treatment requirements—the Environment Agency will require changes to sewage treatment works to accommodate the increase pollution loads from the new housing stock.

CATCHMENT EFFECTS

  The building programme will also have an effect on catchment morphology. Put simply if we tarmac and concrete over more land in river catchments rainfall will not infiltrate, thus reducing the replenishment of underground water supplies. But at the same time rainfall will also run-off more quickly, which means that peak river flows will be increased in times of storm and this will lead to increased flooding.

CONCLUSION

Water UK welcomes the Government's commitment to developing a sustainable national strategy for housing.

The development of 200,000 new homes in the South East will have a major impact on natural resources and in particular water.

The Government needs to assess the impact of the new development on water supply, sewerage supply and on wider catchment management of water.

The Government needs to inform and consult water and wastewater companies in the South East over the practical details of water and sewerage provision for the new housing development.

In future, the water industry needs to be a statutory consultee on strategic planning issues.