Havant Thicket reservoir: Protest to be held over plans to mix recycled and purified sewage water into spring water

Members of the Havant Climate Alliance, Havant Friends of the Earth, Havant Borough Residents’ Alliance, Havant Civic Society and Hayling Sewage Watch will present a letter to the leader of Havant Borough Council (HBC) on Wednesday.

The letter outlines concerns raised against Southern Water’s plan to supplement the new reservoir’s spring water with ‘highly treated’ wastewater derived from sewage.

If approved, effluent from Budds Farm Sewage Treatment Works would be sent to another facility for additional treatment before being discharged into the reservoir.

Ann Buckley, chair of the Havant Borough Residents’ Alliance said: ‘Southern Water, who we do not trust, are proposing to recycle treated effluent - this would become our drinking water as Portsmouth Water's customers. Currently, we drink spring water.

‘We are contacting the councillors as we want to ensure that they are aware of the impact this proposal will have in the borough if it is agreed by the Secretary of State.

‘There will not be a planning application to Havant Borough Council.’

There are currently three public consultations that contain the water recycling proposal that will close on February 20.

These include Southern Water’s water management plan, Portsmouth Water’s water management plan and Water Resources South East Regional Plan.

Ann added: ‘We want to see both Havant Borough Council and individual councillors respond to the three consultations that were launched in November and will be closing on February 20.

‘All these three consultation documents contain the Southern Water's wastewater recycling proposal and the councillors need to understand the content.

‘Local residents supported the development of the Havant Thicket Reservoir and could see real benefits but not this proposal by Southern Water to pump treated effluent into it for use as drinking water.’

The letter written to the leader of the council, Alex Rennie, says there has been ‘very little engagement’ with residents.

‘Most seem unaware that instead of drinking spring water, as we do currently, the water supply we will receive will be sourced also from recycled effluent,’ it reads.

‘Because of its dreadful and lengthy record of polluting our local harbours, southern water is not trusted with the proposed change to our water supply.

‘We feel that many residents may move to purchasing bottled water as their source of drinking water.

‘That would result in additional plastic waste, hence our message to you in a recycled bottle. We are also concerned about increasing bills for customers.’

On August 17, in a letter sent to Southern Water, Cllr Rennie said the council had ‘serious concerns’ about why the water recycling proposal was not made clear during the planning process.

He said: ‘The planning application was from Portsmouth Water and was for a winter storage reservoir supplied by the Bedhampton Springs. This was the planning approval which the council gave.

‘During spring 2021, Southern Water ran a consultation on its future water management, it made clear that it favoured desalination.

‘Whilst water recycling was one of many stated high-level alternative options, only after the reservoir received planning approval did water recycling become the preferred solution.

‘In any case, as a planning authority, we can only assess the proposal which is submitted by a developer at the time.

Bob Taylor, Portsmouth Water CEO said they are working with Southern Water on proposals which involve discharging ‘highly cleaned, recycled wastewater’ into the reservoir starting in 2031.

‘Water recycling is a well-established and widely-used water treatment process that speeds up the natural water cycle to provide a sustainable source of clean, safe drinking water – reducing the amount needed to be taken from the environment. The technology is common elsewhere in the world, but new to this country and us.

‘After further treatment, some of our customers would receive this blended water under these circumstances.

‘As a result, we’ll need to be satisfied the water meets our strict quality standards, is acceptable to our customers and there would be no detrimental impact on our environmental commitments around Havant Thicket Reservoir before we could support the delivery of this option.

‘Water is scarce in the south east yet the impacts of climate change and population growth are increasing; we are fortunate to have one of the only remaining sustainable fresh water sources left in the region at Bedhampton springs – the only other sources available are the sea and through recycling.’

Mark Wintringham, head of delivery for Southern Water, said that we all rely on our environment for the water ‘but there isn’t an endless supply’.

He said: ‘As last summer highlighted, Hampshire faces this challenge head-on, due in large part to population growth and climate change, and we are working closely with Portsmouth Water and other partners to find solutions.

‘We understand that people are naturally concerned about changes to the way their drinking water is provided, but we need to develop new water resources to maintain public supplies and protect the county’s precious rivers and natural environment.

‘Our ‘Water for Life – Hampshire’ programme is providing the platform for this by creating the new Havant Thicket Reservoir, whilst continuing to reduce leakage and improve water efficiency across the county. But it is the future Hampshire Water Transfer and Water Recycling Project which will ensure a resilient water supply for current and future customers.

‘By topping up the reservoir with purified, recycled water, there will be more available for public supply.’