Severn Trent Water is looking at how water trading can be brought about in a plan to flow water from the Midlands into the drought-hit east to help Anglian Water.
30 million litres of raw water per day - enough to supply 100,000 homes in the Anglian Water region - could be transferred 80 miles from Birmingham to Newark under the Severn Trent Water scheme.
David Essex, water strategy manager for Severn Trent said:
“This could be the first example of emergency water trading and a sign of things to come as water becomes scarcer and needs to be moved around the country.”
The water company, which predicts no usage restrictions for its customers this year, is already undertaking water transportation in its own region.
Severn Trent water resources manager, Marcus O’Kane said:
“Over the last six months the company has focused on moving raw water supplies across its water ‘grid’ from the wetter west to the drier east to balance out regional supplies. Careful water resources management from river and ground water sources has also helped to strengthen the system. Dozens of individual measures are being taken to ensure our customers do not face any usage restrictions this year, but we can’t afford to be complacent. Although we would never rule out the prospect of restrictions, we are confident we have the situation under control at this time.
The water situation continues to be closely monitored by Severn Trent.
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