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Our work

Our aim is to support a coordinated approach to water resources and environment planning in the West Country that transcends water company boundaries.

What we aim to achieve

Through our work with our partners, we aim to deliver:

  • long-term environmental improvement by reducing water taken from the environment
  • a drought resilient/secure water supply to customers
  • benefits for society
  • affordable bills.

Our ambitions further the work of each water company member of West Country Water and Environment (WCWE) - Bristol, Bournemouth, South West and Wessex - who each produce a plan of how they’ll balance water supply with demand for at least the next 25 years. These plans can be found on their websites.

Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP)

Our ambitions further the work of each water company member of West Country Water and Environment (WCWE) - Bristol, Bournemouth, South West and Wessex - who each produce a plan of how they’ll balance water supply with demand for at least the next 25 years. These plans known as Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP) can be found on their websites. 

West Country Water Resources’ work builds on those plans and the outputs of Water UK's 'Water resources long-term planning framework' (September 2016) and the National Infrastructure Commissions 'Preparing for a drier future' (April 2018).

Bristol Water’s WRMP sets out their long-term plan to maintain secure, sustainable water supplies to customers in the future, while protecting the environment.
Bournemouth Waters' WRMP set out how it plans to manage supply and demand for the next 25 years and examines issues that influence water availability.
Wessex Water’s WRMP sets out how they will balance water supplies with water demands to ensure supply for customers while also protecting the environment.

Regional Water Resources Plan

We have produced a draft of our Regional Water Resources Plan which is the first ever regional water resources plan for the South West.

It sets out the long-term water needs for the region up to 2050, explores options to respond to those needs and addresses the five key elements below.

  1. Water stress
    Without planned action for the long term, the need for water will exceed the availability.
  2. Demand reduction
    High levels of uncertainty exist about how reliably reductions can be delivered.
  3. New resources options needed
    There is a need to plan new strategic water sources for future generations.
  4. Environmental vulnerability
    With increasing water stress, it is necessary to better understand the needs for the environment to inform future decisions for the region.
  5. Non-public water supplies
    The region needs to better understand the supply and demand needs of non-public water supply users including agriculture.

We know that strategic water resource planning has an impact on a range of stakeholders who – while not always directly involved in water resource management – will have views on the role water will play in the future for local businesses, households, and the environment in our region.

WCWE has consulted with stakeholders and statutory bodies; each stakeholder adds valuable and important insights which have been used to help inform and shape the initial plan.

This work is ongoing and further iterations of the plan will be published every five years. 

We are a group of water companies, regulators and stakeholders. Our members include Wessex Water, South West Water, the Environment Agency and more.
We are a group of water companies, regulators and stakeholders who share a missions to secure future water supply in the West Country.
Our region covering the South West, from Wiltshire to Cornwall, is a varied landscape with numerous urban areas, national parks and vast beautiful coastlines.