Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department issues on criteria for approval of a water transfer and recycling project.

Southern Water are currently consulting on their Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP), which includes the proposed water transfer and recycling project at Havant Thicket Reservoir. Water regulators will review and scrutinise the plan to ensure it is fit for purpose, the risks to the environment including the impact on chalk streams are low, and it is value for money.

Options such as water recycling mark a transition to water supplies that are not dependent upon the uncertainties of rainfall. These options are well established elsewhere around the world and in the UK, to ensure resilient supplies in a changing climate.

For any water recycling scheme to proceed it must comply with the Water Environment Regulations (formally the Water Framework Directive) and the Habitats Regulations. The Environment Agency will ensure environmental requirements are met through their roles as statutory consultee of the planning process and regulator for environmental permits. Environmental impact assessments are required to support planning and permitting and appropriate mitigation must be provided for any impacts.