Our ambition for WRE WRE Stakeholder and Consultation Group meeting - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Our ambition for WRE WRE Stakeholder and Consultation Group meeting 14 January 2020 Tom Nichols Environment Agency Water Resources – Operations Catchment Services 14 January 2020

Changes to water resources planning – meeting the resilience challenge • New National Framework to set out needs across sectors and across the nation • Cross sector regional planning to inform company plans / investment • Regulators and government in alignment Water companies funded to make sure solutions are ‘shovel ready’ - £469m for 17 schemes - RAPID • National Policy Statement to make sure planning process is suited to nationally strategic infrastructure 2

Draft National Planning Framework output 3

The role of RAPID A new cross- regulatory unit Water focused on R egulators’ facilitating Alliance for timely and co- Progressing ordinated Infrastructure development of Development large-scale water resources infrastructure schemes RAPID’s vision: Resilient, timely, high-quality, environmentally beneficial and affordable water resources 4

Rapid gates and schemes Standard gate Accelerated gate Gate start (submission) start (submission) dates dates Gate 1 July 2021 September 2020 October 2022 (aligned with draft Gate 2 WRMP24 September 2021 consultation period) Summer 2023 (aligned with final Gate 3 June 2022 WRMP24 publication) Gate 4 Summer 2024 April 2023 Gate 5 (if Winter 2025 Autumn 2024 required) 5

The role of a national framework • Articulating national and regional water needs – Including demands outside the water industry • Setting expectations for demand management, new resources and transfers • Reviewing regional plans against those expectations 6

Priorities for regional plans • 5 groups now cover England • Building resilience to drought and other pressures on water resources • A single cost-effective plan , considering regional and inter- regional solutions , including transfers • Taking account of wider needs • working across sectors (developing shared infrastructure where appropriate) • actively embedding environmental improvement • Taking a catchment based approach • Water quality and flood risk improvements 7

Timelines: regional planning Year Month Lead Work area / Activity 2020 February EA National Framework report published. Includes key policy decisions. 2020 February Regional Statement of resource position – classification as net receiver or net donor group of water 2020 July Regional group Method and process agreement to ensure compatibility of planning methods and assumptions. Initial statement of ambition for the region. 2021 February Regional group Statement of resource position – updated to include new data, options and costs 2021 August Regional Regions share draft plans and discuss with regulators and other groups to group / RAPID make sure they join up and match 2021 December Regional group Changes agreed to final draft plans 2022 January Regional Informal consultation of regional plans and pre-consultation of water group resource management plans. Set out how regional plans will feed in to Water Resource Management Plans (WRMP). 2022 August Regional Publish final draft regional plan (and submit draft WRMP) group 2023 September Regional group Publish final regional plan (linked to final WRMP)

Timeline - National Framework, Regional Planning, RAPID, Water Resources Management Plans, Business Plans National Planning Framework Publish Regional published Publish final Regional Regions Group Informal final draft share 1 st Regional Group Statement consultation Regional Plan resource draft Plans of of Regional position plans for resource Plans updated comment position 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Wat Co Wat Wat Co Wat Co Wat Co Submit CoDraft Final WRMP final draft Business Business SoR WRMP WRMP Plans Plans RAPID GATE RAPID RAPID RAPID 1 GATE GATE GATE 2 3 4

The planning problem Water resources in the East of England are under pressure By far the The region is Regional greatest area of the fastest domestic irrigated crops demand is 2 nd growing and of any region driest region highest in the country Unique flood Home to national risk, drainage and internationally and navigation important sites for challenges wildlife 10

Non-PWS abstraction across the regions Draft National Planning Framework output 11

PWS and Non-PWS abstraction (consumptive) across the regions Draft National Planning Framework output 12

Regional PWS water needs by 2050 (1:500 drought and high population) Draft National Planning Framework output 13

Potential non-PWS demand by 2050 250 200 million m 3 /year 150 100 50 - Baseline Best Upper Baseline Best Upper Baseline Best Upper Baseline Best Upper Baseline Best Upper Estimate Estimate Estimate Estimate Estimate West Country Water Resources Water Resources West Water Resources North Water Resources South East Water Resources East Spray irrigation Other Agriculture Power Paper and Pulp Chemicals Food & Drink Other Industry Private Water Supply "Other" non-PWS sectors Draft National Planning Framework output 14

Pressures on the environment • Abstraction is not sustainable in some catchments (now and in the future) • Demand for water exceeds supply • Abstraction poses a threat (especially in drought) to national important habitats, including chalk • Demand pressures can stream lead to conflict and negative impacts for the • The over-abstraction environment and problem is not unique to economic growth any one sector 15

What we want WRE to deliver • A better environment • More secure supplies • Stop unsustainable abstraction • Improved resilience to drought • More water for the environment • Identify strategic solutions more of the time • Reduce demand • Deliver a net gain in biodiversity • Abstraction from sustainable • Be ambitious sources • Economic growth • Resilience to change • Work with catchment processes • Think long-term • Solutions that benefit multiple • Build in uncertainty sectors • Solutions must be adaptable • Opportunities for trading and sharing resources 16

How we want WRE to work • The region needs to adapt to the pressures it faces • WRE is ideally placed to engage with multiple sectors and further develop collaboration across all sectors • Achieve shared agreement on sustainable-use of water • Develop both local and strategic scale solutions (including new strategic options) • Demonstrate the economic benefits of a multi-sector approach • Deliver a regional plan that goes ‘back to back’ with water company WRMPs 17

How we want to work with WRE • The EA has a duty to secure the proper use of water resources – we are part of the solution • We have a regulatory role, but want to embrace collaboration • Engage and work with WRE • Be a partner to share costs and benefits of solutions • Willing to take risks where these are justified

Your views… • Do you agree with our ambition for WRE? • What does the EA need to do to help deliver change? • What do you want WRE to do for you? • How do you want to work with WRE and people in the room to make it happen? 19