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What is the driver of the abstraction reduction programme and what are the benefits?
The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is the key driver of our abstraction reduction programme. The WFD states that all rivers are required to achieve good ecological status by 2027, or good ecological potential if designated as heavily modified or artificial.
Within this programme, along with our ambitious river restoration and catchment management programmes, we aim to:
- Leave more water in the environment
- Re-introduce natural processes to the chalk streams in our supply regions which support a diverse range of habitats.
- Understand the nature of each of our drinking water catchments; how the land is being managed, what the likely risks to water quality are and what opportunities there are to mitigate any existing issues.
What have we delivered?
As of the 31st March 2025, we reduced the volume of water we take from the environment by 38.34 million litres per day (Ml/d) across seven catchments. The 6.38 Ml/d abstraction reduction in the Chess catchment was implemented early on a voluntary basis in September 2020 and resulted in full cessation of abstraction in the upper catchment. Further reductions are included in our PR24 business plan and Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP24).
| River Catchment |
Average Reduction (Ml/d |
Community Area |
| Upper Chess |
6.38 |
Misbourne |
| Ver |
9.01 |
Colne |
| Misbourne |
2 |
Misbourne |
| Mimram |
5.7 |
Lee |
| Upper Lea |
10.2 |
Lee |
| Cam |
0.42 |
Stort |
| Brett |
4.63 |
Brett |
| Total |
38.34 |
How will security of supply be maintained?
To ensure we can maintain security of supply, we have delivered new assets and network modifications, to allow us to condition the water where needed and transfer it from other areas to where it is needed. We have also implemented a range of projects and initiatives to support customers to reduce their personal use of water (per capita consumption) and to reduce leakage from our pipe network.
Monitoring
We have an industry-leading environmental monitoring network in place, which covers all areas of the water environment, such as:
- Groundwater levels
- Surface water levels (river and lake levels)
- Ecology (macroinvertebrates and macrophytes)
- Spot flow gauging (river flows)
- Rainfall (rain gauges)
Much of the monitoring network was established in 2014, with some starting as early as 2010. The network has significantly grown since then and we will continue to expand it through to 2030 and beyond. We collect, analyse and interpret this data to help us assess the response of the groundwater abstraction reductions to our river catchments.
See our other programmes