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Matter for Decision: To agree the response to Cambridge
Water’s Draft Water Resources Management Plan
Why the Decision had to be made (and any alternative
options): The purpose of this decision is to agree the response to Cambridge
Water’s Draft Water Resources Management Plan (dWRMP), set out at Appendix 1
which can be viewed at the link below.
This is proposed to be a joint response with South Cambridgeshire
District Council.
Cambridge Water are carrying out consultation on their
dWRMP. WRMPs identify how water supply
will be managed, are produced every 5 years, and cover a 25 year period
Cambridge Water’s dWRMP sets out the challenges faced in the
plan period including the impacts of climate change, population growth
associated with development in the area, planning for drought resilience and
the requirement to leave more water in the environment by reducing abstraction
from the underground aquifer which feeds the chalk streams.
The dWRMP sets out the measures Cambridge Water propose to
balance supply and demand for water and is closely aligned with Water Resources
East’s draft Regional Water Resources Plan.
The approach proposed is:
·
Demand management, including reducing leakage, a
commitment to reduce both household and non-household water consumption and
universal smart metering
·
New sources of supply including optimising
sustainable licences from a gravel source, a time limited bulk water transfer
from Anglian Water (a pipeline from Grafham Water), re-use and storage from
water recycling works and the development of the Fens Reservoir in partnership
with Anglian Water
In the short term, until the new sources of supply become
operational there is still a deficit in supply and Cambridge Water intend to:
·
Apply drought measurement measures more
frequently in dry years
·
Accelerate the bulk transfer from Anglian Water
from 2027 to 2031 – although this wasn’t included in a draft decision by OFWAT
in April 2023
The proposed joint response to the consultation in Appendix
1 is based upon the response the Councils previously made to the draft Regional
Water Resources Plan.
The proposed response is supportive of the overall aim of
the draft WRMP in that it seeks to address the identified development needs
whilst also achieving the abstraction reductions required by the Environment
Agency. However, this is with the
proviso that the Councils are not the responsible authorities in water
resources planning and would look to the expertise of the Environment Agency to
assess whether the measures proposed in the WRMP will be effective in providing
a sustainable water supply
The Councils urge Cambridge Water along with the Environment
Agency, DEFRA, DLUHC and OFWAT to work effectively together and in a timely
manner to resolve the final WRMP and to bring forward the necessary supply and
demand measures as rapidly as possible.
Officers carried out a briefing about the proposed response
on 9th May 2023, to which all Councillors in Cambridge City Council
and South Cambridgeshire District Council were invited
The alternative options are:
·
Agree to submit the response in Appendix 1, with
possible minor amendments
·
Agree an alternative response
·
Agree not to respond to the consultation
To not submit a consultation response, would miss an
opportunity to put forward the Council’s views to Cambridge Water in support of
measures which will reduce demand for water and increase supply, enabling
reductions in abstraction causing harm to the environment and to enable housing
and economic development.
The Executive Councillor’s decision: Agreed that the
consultation response set out in Appendix 1 of this decision should be made to
Cambridge Water’s draft Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP). Agreed that
delegated authority is given to the Joint Director for Planning and Economic
Development to agree any minor amendments to the response in order to finalise
the joint response.
Reason for the decision: To provide the views of Cambridge
City Council on the draft WRMP because future water resources will be a key
issue for the Greater Cambridge Local Plan
Scrutiny Consideration: The Chair and Spokesperson of the
Planning and Transport Scrutiny Committee were consulted prior to the action
being authorised.
Report: Officer to reference any reports or associated
papers. Appendix 1 (attached) Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire
District Council proposed joint response to Cambridge Water’s Draft Water
Resources Management Plan (WRMP) 2024
Conflict of interest: None.
Comments: Comments were received from Councillors T Bick and
Cllr S Davies which were addressed by the Principal Planning Policy Officer and
Appendix 1 updated accordingly.
To view Appendix 1, click on the link below:
