Design work on the proposed new second reservoir at Cheddar has been honoured with a top award for ‘excellent sustainability strategy and performance’.

The Interim Client and Design Award for Bristol Water, as the client, and consulting engineers Arup, as the designer, came from CEEQUAL, the Civil Engineering Environmental Quality Assessment and Award Scheme. It was achieved after a lengthy assessment and verification process. The project achieved a 90% rating for sustainability strategy and 80.5% for sustainability performance. Both are in the ‘excellent’ category.

The award was presented at the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management South West annual dinner in Taunton on Friday. Professor Roger Venables, chief executive officer of CEEQUAL, presented the award, which was received by Bristol Water’s BW’s Environment Manager Patric Bulmer and Arup civil engineer Sarah Niven.

Cheddar Reservoir 2 project spokesman Jeremy Williams said the award was a tribute to the whole project team, commenting:

“It shows just how much effort went into every aspect of the design and the high importance placed on sustainability and environmental protection. Sustainability was an important design consideration from the outset, including in the selection of the original site. The overarching project vision and objectives, as set by Bristol Water, had sustainability at their core.”

He added that the design decisions took into account sustainability outcomes, with additional sustainability opportunities sought and considered at key points. Describing consultation and engagement on the design as  “thorough and far-reaching” as the project progressed to planning, Mr. Williams said that key stakeholders were identified early on, comments were taken on board and fed back to the wider design team for action.

He explained:

 “Bristol Water’s objective is to create a new reservoir which becomes even more important for biodiversity than the existing one, and will also become an SSSI. As well as reducing any negative impacts, the project will result in the creation of new habitats, in particular the creation of wet woodlands and wetland habitats through the development of a flood compensation area.

“Enhanced amenity value was one of the key drivers of the project, potentially providing a major new recreational facility for local communities.”

Ofwat disallows Cheddar 2 construction costs in AMP6

Bristol Water believes that the £125m reservoir, if built, will provide a much-needed new source of water in Somerset – as well as being of enormous long term recreational and conservation benefit.

The scheme, designed to create a new reservoir close to the existing one, received planning permission from Sedgemoor Council in June this year. A detailed S106 agreement on planning conditions and mitigation measures is now close to completion. If it gets the go-ahead, completion is scheduled for 2026.

However the project investment will need regulatory approval from Ofwat, the water industry’s economic regulator, before any further work can start. Negotiations around the company’s AMP6 Business Plan are currently still continuing. The regulator’s Draft Determination rejected the company’s inclusion of £43.7 million for stage 2 construction work to begin on the Cheddar 2 reservoir, stating:

“Following a detailed review of Bristol Water’s evidence for this scheme we disallowed the costs associated with it.”

Ofwat has not funded BRL’s planned investment to build another reservoir at Cheddar, stating that BRL had no obligation to provide non-domestic customers with a supply if it puts at risk its “ability to meet current and probable future obligations to provide to domestic customers”, and that this would add £7 to customers bills “when customers' wider preferences is for no increases in bills.”

CCW "questions removal of Cheddar 2 reservoir" from Ofwat determination

Commenting on the removal in its representation to Ofwat on Bristol Water’s Business Plan, the Consumer Council for Water said:

“We question the removal of Cheddar 2 Reservoir from the determination. We believe if the start up of the scheme was included during 2015-20, this could mean the cost of the reservoir is better paced, and would spread the cost between current and future customers.”

“….BRL has demonstrated to CCWater and its Customer Challenge Group that the new reservoir is the most cost beneficial option to balance supply/demand for its growing population by 202910. While the scheme could be delayed by four years to match when the water is needed, this could cause bills to increase more sharply during the following two price review periods (2020-25 and 2025-30).”

“Our 2009 research, and more recent research from BRL, shows evidence that customers prefer a smooth bill profile. We therefore would support the company beginning preparatory work for the scheme in 2019-20 to help spread the cost over a longer period, recognising that 95% of BRL’s customers supported providing a sufficient supply of water in the future.”