Leading engineering and design consultancy Halcrow is calling for a radical overhaul of the water management network in England and Wales.

The call comes in Halcrow's "New Water Architecture’ white paper- a report published today which outlines "a new, innovative and integrated approach" to water management.

The report says that although the use of relationships between water and the production and use of other resources within key policy is beginning to increase, the trend is however piecemeal and incoherent.

Developed by Michael Norton, global director of Halcrow’s urban water business and engineer Alexander Lane, the report evaluates the management of water resources in England and Wales, identifying weaknesses in the current approach and proposing alternative approaches and specific solutions.

"Joined-up government policy is currently absent"

Halcrow says that the strategies of one government department often outline water policies that are contradicted, amended or ignored in another. The need for joined-up policy across different government departments is of critical importance - and this is currently absent.

Halcrow is calling for an overarching strategy to be put in place which has been agreed and applied across all resource sectors to improve both industry-wide and public understanding of the scarcity element of water. This would enable "educated and proportional responses" to a series of pressures that are increasing in both their number and severity.

Developed by Michael Norton, global director of Halcrow’s urban water business and engineer Alexander Lane, the report evaluates the management of water resources in England and Wales, identifying weaknesses in the current approach and proposing alternative approaches and specific solutions.

Key recommendations in the report include:

• Targeting investment towards management measures such as water transfer - requiring a change away from a regulatory approach which currently fails to sufficiently reward those water companies that engage in trading.
• Establishing an appropriate price for water based on its true value - its absence is one of the principal weaknesses of the current sector. A more appropriate price would improve the efficiency of water use and would also provide increased investment funds.

Commenting on the report’s content Michael Norton said:

“Water is the planet's essential resource, the primary control on health and crucial to the security of food, energy and biodiversity. Despite this, water's role is not well understood and this precious resource remains undervalued. Consequently, we lack an adequately integrated approach to its management. Increased water demands from a growing population are being magnified by the impacts of climate change, which will intensify water scarcity in many regions with high dependence on water. We need a fundamental change in how we value and manage our water."

Changes needed to physical structure of UK water sector

 The New Water Architecture framework proposes a number of changes to the physical characteristics of the water sector of England and Wales. High flow storage is a key option using the sustainable capture, storage and use of high river flows during winter that may otherwise pose significant downstream risk as necessary to meet demand during dry periods when continued abstraction would otherwise damage the interests of downstream users.

The report says that large storage reservoirs would enable “significant fractions” of any long term supply-demand imbalance to be met and are already widely cited by the water companies as necessary to meet future demand.

Halcrow recommends increasing the capacity of existing facilities rather than the construction of large reservoirs, which it says “remains publically divisive”. Extension of existing facilities would have a reduced environmental impact and would enable significant extra capacity to be gained at comparatively low cost.

Halcrow also flags up the use of Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) - artificially pumping water into aquifers for later use, which is currently only a minor proportion of the supply balance – as having significant potential, particularly as a drought response mechanism. Treated effluents and storm water could also be stored using ASR, in addition to high winter river flows. The report makes the key point that although the pumping process is energy intensive, Environment Agency figures indicate that ASR has a lower carbon cost than many other alternatives, notably desalinisation and rainwater harvesting.

Improved infrastructure connectivity via inter-zonal transfer

The White Paper is proposing that the water resources of England and Wales would be most effectively and sustainably exploited via an approach that includes greater inter-regional transfer of raw and treated water. One way to improve the capacity and efficiency of water transfer would be to utilise (and further develop whereappropriate) the inland waterway network - the 5000km of navigable inland waterways in England and Wales already provide over 1 million megalitres of water each year.

Halcrow says that further waterway exploitation could allow transfers to become a viable means of overcoming regional supply imbalances, with carefully targeted reservoirs acting as the primary flow sources for new networks of canals or existing canals.

A 2006 report by the Environment Agency concluded that there was no new evidence to support large-scale water transfers to the south east and estimated a cost of £2.4 million per megalitre per day to move water from Wales to London via the River Severn compared to an investment of £1.6 million (/Ml/d) needed to develop the necessary reservoirs in the south east.

Halcrow’s call for greater inter-zonal transfer appears to be at variance with the approach currently held by the water companies – in August 2011 Water UK, which represents all the UK water and wastewater companies, reiterated its position that the possibility of a national water grid was currently ruled out on economic and environmental grounds and that adequate water resources were available to meet society's needs via a combination of medium- and long-term measures.

The Water UK position paper says that the water companies’ argument for a 'twin track' approach to resources management – reducing demand and enhancing supply within regions –provided the building blocks for a sustainable long-term strategy without incurring “the major expense and environmental upheaval of a national grid.”

Halcrow itself has been heavily involved in regional water resource modelling for the Water Resources in the South East (WRSE) group which by 2005 had led to the implementation of four new water transfer schemes between water companies. By introducing new members, the group is hoping that the potential for wider regional transfers can be tested and promoted when selected as robust planning solutions.

Waste water as a resource

Halcrow is also calling for waste water to be viewed as a potential source of clean water, energy and materials, all of which have a value – making a case to view it as a separate business. New Water Architecture proposes that domestic waste water becomes a resource for which business would compete to acquire.

The White Paper also suggests that public ownership of key water resources is increased through the guiding control of a ‘National Water Steward’. Halcrow say that “significant collaboration” between the water companies would be required for New Water Architecture framework to succeed, and that without some form of independent control, “the risks of unfair practice would be high.”

Currently water industry regulator Ofwat is opposed to establishing a Water Steward Role - at least in the short-term and has instead suggested that dedicated departments within the water companies should take on system management under strong regulation. Halcrow says the existing approach to abstraction licensing also needs reform in order to optimise withdrawals from the water resources network.

The White Paper recognises that many of the proposed initiatives will require significant financial investment which should be enabled by the charging what it describes as “a reflective price for domestic and agricultural water use.” Halcrow is suggesting that in order to reveal its scarcity, the true value of water must be established through the accurate pricing of supply. Recognition of the resource value of waste water would also open up innovative institutional and market models.

The report concludes:

“Appropriate price models for all uses and re-uses of water will provide the necessary investment funds for integrated infrastructure improvements.”