Southern Water is currently in the process of a major project to manage the Bewl and Medway river systems In Kent to keep southern England’s largest reservoir at Bewl topped up in winter to release back in to the rivers over the summer.
Southern Water's Catchment Management specialists are working closely in partnership with the farming community to explore ways they can work together to maintain and enhance river quality.
The water company also works closely with the Environment Agency and is delivering their National Environment Programme (NEP) investment schemes. The wastewater improvement schemes are designed to comply with the standards the Agency has set to protect the environment. The majority of the schemes are required to meet the standards set out in the Water Framework Directive especially for phosphorus reduction.
The total amount Southern Water has invested a total of £130 million in delivering the NEP schemes during the AMP6 2015-20 period.
The utility is currently agreeing the scope of the upcoming AMP7 period that will start in 2020 and finish in 2025. It has already been agreed by the end of 2021 that Southern Water will have delivered 17 more phosphorus reduction schemes across the region, some of which are designed to improve river water quality in the Pevensey Levels.
In addition to meeting current river quality standards, Southern Water is an active participant in national research programmes into future river water quality standards including the Chemical Investigation Programme.
The company has also signed up to the next phase of the Chemical Investigation Programme that will also investigate new emerging issues such as the concentration of microplastics in wastewater releases.
Paul Linwood, wastewater strategy manager at Southern Water commented:
“With the population in the region continuing to grow the pressure on our services will also grow so to deliver a resilient water future we must ensure everything that goes into rivers is of the highest quality.”
With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, then environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.”
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