Havant Thicket Reservoir: Petition to stop wastewater recycling project reaches 4,500 signatures

Community organisation Havant Friends of the Earth started the petition to oppose Southern Water’s plan to supplement the upcoming Havant Thicket Reservoir with recycled wastewater.

The proposal has attracted criticism from local residents, community groups, and Havant Borough Council.

Shelley Saunders, from the Havant Green Party, believed the plans have caused huge environmental concerns and that ‘cheaper’ and ‘greener’ solutions are being overlooked.

‘The water recycling process requires large amounts of chemicals, is energy intensive, and releases a warm brine into the Solent,’ she said.

‘The impact on the Solent of the Havant water recycling scheme has not been assessed in combination with the planned Sandown, Isle of Wight water recycling scheme.

‘Residents have told me they are very concerned about the quality of drinking water, because Southern Water has been polluting our local waters for years. They don’t trust that Southern Water can deliver this complex process safely.

‘When speaking to residents, they have lost confidence in the water companies because of the seemingly underhanded way the planning for water recycling has been proposed after the reservoir gained planning approval.

‘The general feeling across the community is that, had these water recycling plans been part of the original reservoir application, public outrage would have prevailed.’

ALSO READ: Havant Thicket Reservoir – all you need to know

At a public meeting which was held between the council, Portsmouth Water and Southern Water on February 15 it was said that the project responds to a projected water deficit of 2.7bn litres by 2075.

Mark Wintringham, head of delivery for Southern Water, previously stated that the challenge Hampshire faces is 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.

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

ALSO READ: Southern Water and Portsmouth Water insist using recycled wastewater is the only way forward