Draft Water Resources Management Plan consultation - Responses to representations.

In April this year, the company set out its proposals to manage water resources in its supply area over the next 25 years. This draft plan may be read here. The challenges we face are quite considerable and include:

• Substantial increase in population and house building for the region
• Growth in businesses in line with population to support employment
• Climate change impacts leading to drier summers and wetter winters
• Quality of surface waters threatened by increased pollution
• The need to ensure secure supplies of water to meet growth without damage to the environment
• Targets for reduction of carbon emissions and public water consumption

Following a period of consultation, we have received representations in respect of our draft Water Resources Plan from a number of organisations and individuals. These are listed below

• Environment Agency
• Ofwat
• Natural England
• Consumer Council for Water
• Waterwise
• Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE)
• Avon Wildlife Trust
• The Woodland Trust
• Individual members of the public

We have now complied a response to this feedback which is available here to read. On this response we have taken what we believe to be the key points from all of the representations and indicated how these points have been addressed within the draft water resources planning process. In addition to the main document stating our responses to representations, we have provided all of the individual representations as appendices in a separate document here.

We are now in the process of developing the final submission of our Water Resources Management Plan. This plan will be submitted for approval by the Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs in April 2009 and published in July 2009.