BARCOMBE RESERVOIR PLAN

The company will spend the next two years carrying out comprehensive studies for a new reservoir at Clay Hill, near Barcombe in East Sussex.

The feasibility studies will look at environmental, planning and engineering issues to determine if the scheme warrants further consideration for possible development.

If built, the new reservoir would be able to supply at least 18 million litres of water every day to homes across Sussex, and would help overcome the predicted deficit in water resources by 2015/16 already identified by South East Water.

The need for the studies has been fully supported by both of the company's regulators, Ofwat and the Environment Agency, and by the Water Resources in the South East Group1.

However, any future development would only progress if the feasibility studies conclude that Clay Hill Reservoir forms part of the most sustainable regional solution to meeting future demand for water, alongside other new water resource developments being considered by Southern Water, Mid Kent Water and Portsmouth Water.

The development would also be subject to acquiring the necessary land, and gaining both planning permission and environmental consents. The proposed completion date would be 2015.

Developing new resources is crucial to meeting the demand for water from both existing and future customers. The impact of climate change in the south east region, in particular, also means we are experiencing more and more long, dry spells.

The need for new resources, such as that being considered at Clay Hill, has already been identified by the South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA).

Its draft South East Plan, due to be submitted to Government for formal consideration in spring 2006, sets out the changes and improvements that are needed to meet the region's needs over the next 20 years. In this draft plan, SEERA highlights the need for new water resources schemes to cater for current and future water demand.

The Clay Hill feasibility studies, and potential subsequent construction and commissioning, also form part of South East Water's own 25 year Water Resources Plan.