The Environment Agency has launched a new consultation on the draft Water Resources Planning Guideline it has prepared for the water companies to use in drawing up their Water Resource Management Plans(WRMPs).
The last version of the water resources planning guideline was an update in 2017 - since that update the Agency has significantly revised the guideline. The most significant changes are that water companies:
- should use natural capital in decision-making and provide environmental net gain through their WRMPs
- should plan to provide a long-term destination for the environment by reducing abstraction where it is causing the most environmental damage
- In England - are expected to be resilient to any drought of a return period of once in 500 years
- In England - should take account of regional plans
There are also changes around baseline assumptions for demand management; updated guidance on climate change and when to consider adaptive planning. Water companies are also asked to use the drought vulnerability framework to assess their vulnerability to drought.
The guideline focusses on the legal requirements and technical approaches the water companies should follow to develop a WRMP, in conjunction with any relevant government policy expectations or any specific outcomes.
The Agency said the guideline is designed to help the utilities write a plan that complies with all the relevant statutory requirements and government policy.
The word ‘must’ is used in the guideline where the action is related to a statutory requirement. The Agency has highlighted the fact that where the companies do not follow a ‘must’ there is a high risk of producing a plan that is not legally compliant. The Agency has used the word ‘should,’ where it believes the action is needed to produce an adequate plan.
Questions the Environment Agency is seeking comments on in the draft guideline include:
- Do you have any concerns, suggested improvements or comments regarding the guideline that you would like to highlight?
- Do you believe that the guideline allows water companies to produce plans with secure and resilient water supplies?
- The 25 Year Environment plan states that it is the Government's ambition to leave our environment in a better state that we found it. Do you think the guideline sufficiently contributes to this aim?
- The guideline incorporates a natural capital approach into decision-making. Do you agree with the approach set out in the guideline and supplementary guidance which combines the natural capital approach, biodiversity net gain and the Strategic Environmental Assessment into decisionmaking?
- We are facing a climate emergency. Do you think our guideline adequately addresses this challenge?
Deadline to submit responses to the consultation is 2nd October 2020 – the Environment Agency is aiming to publish the final version of the guideline in January 2021.
Click here to download the draft guideline
Click here to download the consultation response form
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