Customers are being invited to have their say on how Northumbrian Water plans to provide a reliable and sustainable supply of water to them over the next 40 years.
Northumbrian Water supplies 2.7 million customers in the North East with water and sewerage services, including the major population centres of Tyneside, Wearside and Teesside as well as the large rural areas of Northumberland and County Durham.
Every five years the company develops a new water resources management plan which sets out it how it will continue to provide a reliable and sustainable supply of water to its customers.
A draft Water Resources Management Plan 2019 has been produced, which covers a 40 year period from 2020 to 2060. Northumbrian Water is now seeking comments and feedback on the plan before it is submitted to the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) for approval.
Martin Lunn, Head of Technical Strategy for Northumbrian Water said: "Our new draft plan is a key document as it forecasts how much water we will have to supply to our customers, taking into accounts things like possible future droughts, climate change and the need to protect the environment."
The draft plan also forecasts how much water customers will need over the 40 year period, taking into account future population growth. By comparing supply and demand forecasts, Northumbrian Water has confirmed that it will have reliable and sufficient supplies of water to meet customer demand over the planning period.
The company already has one of the lowest leakage rates from its water pipes in the country but is also planning to reduce it further by 15 per cent between 2020 and 2025.
"We must ensure that we are using water efficiently in order to ensure that we have sufficient supplies in future," Martin continued. "An important part of this is helping our customers reduce the amount of water they use, and reducing leakage from our water pipes. I encourage customers to read our draft plan and let us know what they think of them during the consultation period."
The consultation on the Water Resources Management Plan 2019 is open until Sunday 27 May 2018.
Our draft WRMP19 can be found online at https://www.nwl.co.uk/wrmp. A paper copy is also available to view at Northumbrian Water′s office at Boldon House in Durham. To book an appointment, please email waterresources@nwl.co.uk.
Feedback should be emailed directly to Defra water.resources@defra.gsi.gov.uk with ‘Northumbrian Water draft Water Resources Management Plan′ in the subject line. So that your feedback can be considered promptly, please also copy your email to Northumbrian Water at waterresources@nwl.co.uk.
Alternatively, you can send your feedback via letter to: Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Northumbrian Water Water Resources Management Plan Consultation, Water Resources, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Area 3D, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR. The Secretary of State will then forward your feedback on to us.