Drought Plan anglianwater.co.uk. Foreword Foreword

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2 Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk Foreword Foreword

3 Foreword This report is Anglian Water s Drought Plan 2014 that has been prepared in response to comments received following public consultation. The Drought Plan 2014 replaces our previous Drought Plan The Plan has been agreed with the Environment Agency and was approved for publication by the Secretary of State on 22 July It provides an overview on how we propose manage water resources during a drought to protect public water supplies, whilst minimising any environmental impacts that may arise as a result of our activities. We will prepare and publish a revised plan no later than 22 August 2019 or sooner if there has been a material change of circumstances, or if we are so directed by the Secretary of State. For further information please visit our website We would welcome your feedback.

4 Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk Contents

5 Executive Summary Part One Drought Plan Framework 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Purpose of Plan 1.3 Regulatory Framework Part Two Regional Overview 2.1 Anglian Water Overview 2.2 Water Resource Planning 2.3 Levels of Service 2.4 Bulk Supply Agreements and Inset Appointments 2.5 Drought Management and Investment to Date Pre-privatisation Post-privatisation Lessons Identified from Previous Droughts Lessons Identified from the Drought 2.6 Testing the Drought Plan 2.7 Assessing the Impact of Long Duration Drought and Climate Change Part Three Drought Management Strategy 3.1 Drought Management Process 3.2 Management Actions during Normal (non-drought) Conditions 3.3 Recognising the start of a Drought 3.4 Management Actions during Potential Drought Conditions 3.5 Management Actions during Drought Conditions Drought Triggers and Scenarios 4.1 Reservoirs Reservoir Control Curves Normal Operating Curve Drought Management Curves Variations to Drought Management on Reservoir Control Curves 4.2 Direct Supply River Intakes 4.3 Groundwater systems Drought Vulnerable Groundwater Sources Groundwater Drought Alert Curves 4.4 Scenario Modelling Drought Forecasting 5.1 Reservoir Drought Forecasting 5.2 Direct River Intake Drought Forecasting 5.3 Groundwater Source Drought Forecasting

6 Contents 6 Drought Measures to Manage Supply and Demand 6.1 Overview 6.2 Demand Side Management Actions Publicity Campaigns Meter Optants Leakage Temporary Water Use (Hosepipe) Bans (Level of Service 1) Non-Essential Use Ban Restrictions (Levels of Service 2) Emergency Drought Order (Level of Service 3) Other Demand Management Options 6.3 Supply Side Management Actions Drought Management Actions for Reservoirs Drought Management Actions for Direct Intakes Drought Management Actions for Groundwater Sources 6.4 Drought Permits and Drought Orders 6.5 Additional Supply Side Management Options Management of Inter-Company Transfers Alternative Options Minimising the Impact of Drought on the Environment 7.1 Environmental Assessments 7.2 Environmental Monitoring Plan 7.3 Data Provision 7.4 Habitats Directive and Countryside Right of Way Act 7.5 Strategic Environment Assessment Drought Management and Communications Plan 8.1 Management Structure - Drought Management Team 8.2 Internal Drought Management - Emergency Planning 8.3 External Drought Management 8.4 Communications Plan Post Drought Actions 110 Glossary Glossary 114 Appendices 1 Appendix 1: Resource Zone Characteristics and Drought Measures Appendix 2: Drought Plan Demand-Side Drought Management Options Appendix 3: Drought Plan Supply-Side Drought Management Options Appendix 4: Drought Management for Anglian Water Reservoirs Appendix 5: Drought Management for Anglian Water Direct Supply River Intakes 126 Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk Appendix 6: Drought Management for Anglian Water Groundwater Sources Appendix 7: Drought Plan Environmental Assessments Appendix 8: Drought Plan Environmental Assessment Monitoring Plan

7 9 10 Appendix 9: Drought Communications Strategy Appendix 10: Temporary Use Restrictions - Representation

8 Contents Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk List of figures Figure 1 Anglian Water Resource Zones Figure 2 Map of conservation sites across the Anglian region Figure 3 Map of Anglian Water Sources Figure 4 Distribution input for the Anglian region Figure WRMP Baseline Average Supply Demand Balance Figure 6 Selected 25 year 2015 WRMP options Figure 7 Transfers, existing trades and trades considered in the 2015 WRMP Figure 8 Pre-Privatisation drought investment Figure 9 Post-privatisation drought investment Figure 10 Severe drought project: reservoir simulation, , under Anglian Water levels of service Figure 11 Modelled vs Observed Hydrographs for the period of borehole monitoring Figure 12 Box plots showing the impacts of climate change on surface water reservoir yields Figure 13 Impact of Climate Change on groundwater Yield for Five Sources at risk of loss of DO across full range in scenarios Figure 14 Drought management process Figure 15 Anglian region cumulative rainfall for 18 month periods starting in October in each year from 1899 to 2013 (dashed grey lines are upper ( ) and lower ( ) bounds; dashed orange line is ; red line is ) Figure 16 Example of reservoir control and trigger curves Figure 17 UKWIR summary diagram for drought vulnerable groundwater sources Figure 18 Drought vulnerable groundwater sources Figure 19 Map of Environment Agency monitoring boreholes Figure 20 Groundwater drought curve based on actual historical recession Figure 21 Recorded flows at Duston vs the model inflows for 'average' and 'dry' scenarios Figure 22 Pitsford Reservoir storage projection Figure 23 Flow categories, pumping constraints and recorded flows in the River Wensum Figure 24 GWLF forecast of groundwater levels in the Central Lincolnshire Limestone Figure 25 Water supplied 1963 to 2012 Figure 26 Potential target zones for accelerating enhanced metering and water efficiency measures (based on the Environment Agency's assessment of areas drought risk in June 2011) Figure 27 Overview of the approach for stages A1 and A2 of the assessment of environmental risk Figure 28 Drought Governance Structure Figure 29 RZ and Local Authority Boundaries

9 Executive Summary Executive Summary

10 2 Executive Summary Executive Summary Executive Summary Anglian Water s Drought Plan 2014 has been produced to comply with the statutory requirements introduced in the Water Act 2003, the Drought Plan Direction 2011 and Environment Agency guidelines. The purpose of our drought plan is to demonstrate how we will protect public water supplies during a drought, whilst minimising any potential environmental impacts that may arise as a result of our activities. The Plan has been prepared in response to comments received following public consultation and has been agreed with the Environment Agency. We supply water and wastewater services to 5.5 million people in the Anglian region and in the Hartlepool Water supply area. We operate eight raw water storage reservoirs which, along with eight direct supply river intakes, provide 50 per cent of the water supply across our region. The remaining 50 per cent is provided by groundwater abstracted from 200 sources, and 450 operational boreholes. The Anglian region is the driest region of England and our drought plan draws on extensive experience of managing four drought periods since privatisation in 1989, including the recent experiences from Prior to the drought event, we had invested in the region of 100 million to improve the resilience of our water supply system against severe drought events. In response to the event, we identified a 63 million programme of capital investment to 2015, which will protect customers supplies further. The lessons that we have identified from our response to previous droughts have helped to shape our drought plan. We are confident that the drought management actions we propose are robust enough to maintain public water supplies during periods of low rainfall. Section 2 provides further detail regarding how we manage water resources across the region and our experience from previous droughts. Every drought varies in terms of its location, intensity, duration and impact. Our drought plan sets out the management actions that we will take before, during and after a drought. The drought plan is not strategic but outlines a framework for managing a drought were it to occur under present circumstances with existing infrastructure. Our drought management process is laid out in the following flow chart which also sign-posts the relevant sections of the Plan. Section 3 provides further detail about our drought management strategy and the processes that we have in place to maintain security of supplies to our customers as we move from normal through to drought conditions. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk Continuous monitoring of rainfall, river flows, reservoir storage and groundwater levels is key to helping us identify the onset of a drought. We have developed a range of hydrological triggers that provide us with sufficient lead time to deploy a variety of drought management measures as drought conditions prevail.

11 3 Section 4 describes the triggers that we have developed for our reservoir, direct river intakes and drought vulnerable groundwater sources. Section 5 describes how we forecast the likely impact of drought upon our sources under our current operating system. We assess the risk of drought against an analysis of how much water is reliably available during the worst recorded historical drought conditions. This defines the yields of our reservoirs, direct river intakes and groundwater sources that are used to maintain a secure balance between the availability of water supplies and the demand from our customers. We define the yield of our reservoirs in relation to the frequency that we would seek to impose water supply restrictions. We define these as our current levels of service as follows: Temporary use restrictions, no more than once in every 10 years. A ban on non-essential water use which may also impact commercial customers, no more than once in every 40 years. Provision of standpipes and use of rota-cuts, no more than once every 100 years. Through historic and recent investment to secure our vulnerable groundwater sources and our direct abstraction river intakes against drought, customers supplied from these sources receive a higher level of service than customers who depend on supplies from reservoirs. Consultation and discussion at national and regional level during the drought highlighted that it is no longer acceptable to include a planned level of service that may result in the imposition of standpipes or rota cuts for our customers. In response to this, and the consultation for our latest water resources management plan, we will start work in 2015 on the detailed design, planning and further consultation for a new raw water transfer from the River Trent to enhance the levels of service in our Ruthamford supply system. Due to the combined pressures of climate change, population growth and environmental regulation on resources in this water stressed region, we have a long history of talking to our customers about water conservation. Our Love Every Drop campaign is our strategy to raise the awareness about how important water is to life, to people, to the environment and to a growing economy. As drought conditions prevail, we will continue to build on this messaging with our customers, and our regulators, to ensure that we take appropriate actions as a rainfall deficit accumulates. We will follow our drought communications strategy as the situation deteriorates. During the drought, the Secretary of State set up the National Drought Group in which Anglian Water took a leading role. This provided a single coherent, cross-sector team, which was able to manage co-ordinated delivery of drought management activities, communications and risk management. In addition, and together with the Environment Agency, we led several national events to encourage the industry and our regulators to understand the true impacts of drought and ensure better preparedness in the future. The level of collaboration and co-operation within the water sector was high during this drought.

12 4 Executive Summary Executive Summary The cornerstone of our long-term water resources management strategy continues to be a twin-track approach of promoting demand management in parallel with measures to secure resources in order to maintain our supply-demand balance. Section 6 outlines the demand side measures that we will impose during a drought including the new powers to restrict domestic hosepipe use. During a drought we would increase our demand management activities through enhanced customer communications, water-efficiency promotions, metering and enhanced leakage detection. We recognise, however, that there will be occasions during certain drought conditions when restrictions on customer use will be required to reduce demand further. In addition to increasing our activity in these areas, we will also look to implement restrictions on customer use through application of the new powers afforded to water companies under the Water Use (Temporary Bans) Order These new powers would primarily affect domestic customers, and allow us to restrict private use of all hosepipe activity, without the need to apply to the Secretary of State for a drought order. We will consult widely and will allow sufficient time for representations to be made before imposing any such restrictions on our customers. Section 6 also details the supply side management options that we have developed for our drought vulnerable sources including the use of drought permits and drought orders. On the supply side, we would seek to optimise the conjunctive use of groundwater and surface water sources, and review trading opportunities with our neighbouring water companies, as the drought develops. During the drought, we identified investment opportunities to accelerate some supply-demand schemes to commission a number of our licensed abstraction sources. Where necessary we can apply for drought permits or drought orders to amend the conditions of our abstraction licences to help us to secure the availability of water during a period of exceptional shortage of rain. In our planning we have included the provision of drought permits for seven of our surface water sources where we feel that intakes may be vulnerable to drought impacts. Section 7 provides detail of the assessments that we have undertaken to minimise the environmental impacts of our drought management actions. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk To ensure any environmental impacts are minimised, we have completed a full update and have improved the environmental assessment for each source where a permit may be required. These also include a Habitats Directive Assessment in accordance with regulatory requirements. We are confident that our proposed drought actions will not have any significant impact on any internationally designated conservation sites. This revised drought plan has been subjected to further assessment under the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive and this is available under separate cover.

13 5 We have included an environmental monitoring plan to identify the important baseline information required to support any future applications for drought permits. Section 8 describes our drought management structure and provides detail of the communication plan we would follow during a drought. We will review our drought plan on an annual basis and will complete a full revision no later than five years after publication of this plan, in accordance with guidance, or sooner if there has been a material change of circumstances or as so directed by the Secretary of State.

14 6 Executive Summary Executive Summary Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk Drought management process

15 Part One Drought Plan Framework

16 8 Part One Drought Plan Framework 1 Drought Plan Framework Part one of our drought plan details the form of the plan and the key issues that it is setting out to address. It describes the purpose of the plan and the regulatory framework under which it has been developed. It also provides details of the consultation process and invites feedback. 1.1 Introduction There is a statutory requirement for all water companies to prepare and maintain a drought plan that sets out how we will maintain the water supply to our customers during periods of low rainfall when supply becomes depleted. This is Anglian Water s Drought Plan 2014 that has been prepared in response to public consultation and replaces our Drought Plan This is the fourth formal drought plan that we have produced since the first in This plan has been prepared following the Environment Agency s Water Company Drought Plan Guideline (as updated in June 2011). In accordance with the guidelines, we completed pre-consultation with key stakeholders and have sought approval from the Secretary of State for publication. This drought plan has been developed to provide an overview on how we propose to manage water resources during a drought. It is consistent with our published Water Resources Management Plan 2015 which sets out how we intend to secure water supply over the next 25 years. The drought plan covers the Anglian Water region and includes the Hartlepool Water supply area, as shown in Figure 1. Our Drought Plan 2014 is structured in three parts: Part one: the drought planning framework. Part two: a regional overview. Part three: our drought management strategy. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk

17 Figure 1 Anglian Water Resource Zones 9

18 10 Part One Drought Plan Framework 1.2 Purpose of Plan Our drought plan has been developed in accordance with the requirements of the Water Industry Act 1991 to describe how we as a water undertaker will continue, during a period of drought, to discharge our duties to supply adequate quantities of wholesome water, with as little recourse as reasonably possible to drought orders or drought permits'. The purpose of our drought plan is, therefore, to protect public water supplies whilst minimising any environmental impacts that may arise, as a result of our activities, during a prolonged period of low rainfall. Every water company in England and Wales is required, by law, to prepare and maintain a statutory drought plan. Whilst drought plans are prepared in accordance with prescribed guidelines, they will each be different due to the different supply system characteristics of each water company. We will always seek to work together with other water companies, and especially with our neighbouring companies, to ensure that during times of drought we provide a clear message to our customers. This is especially important during times when we may need to impose water use restrictions, as our customers experienced during the drought. The legislation governing how a water company may impose a hosepipe ban changed in 2010 and we have consulted as an industry to ensure a consistent interpretation of the new powers. However, customers should recognise that approaches to demand management will vary between different companies. We describe our approach further in Section Each drought varies in terms of intensity, duration, geographical coverage and impact. Our drought plan draws on previous experience in our region, alongside the direction and guidance from Government and the Environment Agency. We have reviewed the measures that we have in place to maintain secure water supplies during the worst recorded droughts for all of our water sources. The plan sets out the management actions that we will take before, during and after a drought. The drought plan is not strategic but outlines a framework for managing a drought were it to occur under present circumstances with existing infrastructure. The Environment Agency is responsible for producing its own drought plan to protect the environment, water abstractors and the interests of other users of the environment. Both the Environment Agency's Anglian Region and Yorkshire and North East Region drought plans were out for consultation in 2011 and the final plans are available on its website. This endorses how the Environment Agency and water companies will actively work together to manage a drought. The Environment Agency has a duty for long-term water resources planning and is a statutory consultee in the development and review of both our water resources management plan and drought plan. Our Drought Plan 2014 is consistent with the Environment Agency's Anglian Region Drought Plan 2011 and has many synergies in terms of hydrological and environmental monitoring, triggers and communications strategies. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk It should be recognised that a water resources drought will usually only develop after several months of below-average rainfall. This is different from an agricultural drought when unseasonably dry soils may arise from only weeks of dry weather over the growing season. It is possible, therefore, that the Environment Agency may choose to announce that the region is in drought due to wider environmental concerns, as opposed to a concern over the security of public water supplies. We recognise that this can cause some confusion with our customers and we will continue to work closely with the Environment Agency during such times to explain and clarify our individual roles and responsibilities.

19 11 The effectiveness of our management in previous droughts can be measured by the adoption of timely measures and responses that have enabled us to maintain the security of public water supplies. We believe that this current drought plan provides a robust approach to drought management and we are confident that it provides the flexibility we require to maintain future public water supplies. 1.3 Regulatory Framework Drought plans are a statutory requirement under Section 39B of the Water Industry Act 1991, as amended by the Water Act Our Drought Plan 2014 has been prepared in line with the legal framework for drought planning as set out in: Water Industry Act Water Act Drought Plan Direction Drought Plan Regulations Drought Direction Flood and Water Management Act Water Use (Temporary Bans) Order Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programme Regulations 2004; from Strategic. Environmental Assessment Directive Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; as amended by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act We assessed all representations that were made on the draft Drought Plan 2013 and produced our Statement of Response as directed by the Secretary of State. We received direction to publish our final plan on 22 July We are confident that, in following the Environment Agency s guidelines, we have met the requirements of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 and have fully complied with the requirements of the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive We provide further justification for this in Section 7. In accordance with Section 39B of the Water Industry Act 1991 and the Drought Plan Direction 2011 our drought plan is structured to addresses the following: Monitoring the effects of drought see Section 3. Demand and supply side triggers and options see Section 4. New powers on temporary bans on water use as introduced by the Water Use (Temporary Bans) Order 2010 see Section 6. Drought permits and approvals see Section 6. Environmental monitoring and mitigation see section 7 Mitigation or compensation necessary for the implementation of drought management measures see Section 7. The management structure during drought see Section 8. Liaison with regulators, customers and other stakeholders see Section 8.

20 12 Part One Drought Plan Framework In accordance with the Security and Measures Direction 1998 (SEMD), the drought plan has been formally reviewed by an independent SEMD certifier who has provided a certified statement of compliance. This confirms that our Drought Plan 2014 meets the requirements of The Control of Sensitive Water Company Information Advice Note 11 Edition 1, as published by Defra in November The Water Act 2014 contains provisions that amends the drought plan requirements in the Water industry Act Section 28(4) of the Water Act 2014 was commenced on 14 July 2014, so that in accordance with section 39(6) of the Water Industry Act 1991, we are required to prepare and publish a revised plan by 22 August 2019, or sooner if there has been a material change of circumstances or as directed by the Secretary of State. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk

21 Part Two Regional Overview

22 14 Part Two Regional Overview 2 Regional Overview Part two of our drought plan provides an overview of how we manage water resources in our region and how we have successfully managed droughts to date. We describe the significant investments that we have made during previous droughts and highlight some of our learning from these droughts. In this section we describe how we are looking forward and developing strategies to secure our supplies through more severe multi-season droughts in the future. 2.1 Anglian Water Overview Anglian Water currently provides water or wastewater services to 5.5 million people and 125,000 businesses in the east of England and the town of Hartlepool in the north-east. The region we supply, in the East of England, covers 22,000km 2 and is bounded to the south by the River Thames, to the north by the Humber Estuary and extends west to Northampton and Milton Keynes. Predominantly flat and rural, we are located in the driest region of the country and have one of the fastest rates of housing growth. The Environment Agency has assessed the region as being in serious water stress and, in addition, it is recognised as being particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The region is characterised by a high number of water-dependent designated conservation sites (see Figure 2) and we work closely with the Environment Agency to manage the associated environmental pressures. On average the Anglian region receives approximately 600mm of rainfall each year, which is just two-thirds of the average for England and Wales as a whole. In an average year only a quarter of the rainfall is available as a water resource after evaporation and use by plants. Long dry summers, during which evaporation exceeds rainfall, are a normal part of the climate in this region. Therefore effective water resource planning and drought management is vital to ensure that we achieve and maintain the security of our public water supplies during drought events and peak demands, whilst taking due consideration of any associated environmental concerns. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk

23 Figure 2 Map of conservation sites across the Anglian region 15

24 16 Part Two Regional Overview In the west of our region, the water supply is principally from the large pumped raw water storage reservoirs of Rutland Water, Grafham Water and Pitsford Reservoir. In total, we operate eight raw water storage reservoirs which, along with eight direct supply river intakes, provide 50 per cent of our water supply across the region. The remaining 50 per cent is provided by groundwater abstracted from 200 sources comprising 450 operational boreholes. We abstract groundwater from several major aquifers, each of which will respond differently in a drought. The North and North-East region, which includes the Hartlepool Water supply area, has a higher average annual rainfall of around 750mm. In Hartlepool we abstract water from the deeply confined aquifer of the Magnesian Limestone. Historically, there have been no reported issues with low rainfall conditions affecting the availability of supplies. Further detail of our surface water and groundwater sources are provided in Section 4. The location of our abstraction sources are shown in Figure 3. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk Figure 3 Map of Anglian Water Sources

25 Water Resource Planning Anglian Water has developed a robust long-term water resource strategy to meet the key challenges we face in our region including high population growth, climate change and increasing environmental pressures. Our water resources and supply systems have been developed over the last 150 years to meet increasing demands for water and to cope with severe droughts. This has been achieved through the construction of strategic storage reservoirs with long retention periods to support the local groundwater supplies. The volume of water that we have supplied to our customers (referred to as distribution input) on a daily basis since 1985, is presented in Figure 4. DISTRIBUTION INPUT (Including non potable & Exceptions) Ml/d Apr-13 Apr-12 Apr-11 Apr-10 Apr-09 Apr-08 Apr-07 Apr-06 Apr-05 Apr-04 Apr-03 Apr-02 Apr-01 Apr-00 Apr-99 Apr-98 Apr-97 Apr-96 Apr-95 Apr-94 Apr-93 Apr-92 Apr-91 Apr-90 Apr-89 Apr-88 Apr-87 Apr-86 Apr-85 Figure 4 Distribution input for the Anglian region Parts of the region are well served through the interconnection of strategic trunk water mains, adding to the security and flexibility of the system. We continue to invest in the distribution system in order to improve integration that will enable us to meet local growth in demands, improve security and manage the deteriorating groundwater quality, notably as a result of increasing diffuse source contaminants such as pesticide compounds and nitrates. During the AMP5 ( ) investment period, we are improving the interconnectivity of our distribution system further through the delivery of large transfer schemes from our Covenham WTW to Boston, and Grafham WTW to Pitsford WTW. We are also evaluating options to improve the resilience of our distribution network in South Humberside and Central Lincolnshire.

26 18 Part Two Regional Overview Every five years we publish our water resources management plan, which details how we will maintain the security of supplies for our increasing customer base, whilst recognising the uncertainties of the impact of climate change and environmental pressures in our region. Our 2015 Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP), as approved by Defra, details our strategy and the investment required to maintain the balance between supply and demand over a 25 year planning horizon. The drought plan compliments the WRMP, as it sets out the shorter-term management actions that we will take as a drought progresses. In our 2015 WRMP we have defined 19 resource zones (RZs) as shown in Figure 1 and listed in Table 1. The extent of the RZs are defined by the existing water supply system and reflect the Environment Agency s guideline as an area where customers experience the same risk of supply failure from a resource shortfall. The individual characteristics of each RZ are described in Appendix 1. Resource Zone Name Central Lincolnshire East Lincolnshire West Lincolnshire Hunstanton Fenland North Norfolk Coast Norwich and the Broads Norfolk Rural Ely Newmarket Cheveley West Suffolk Sudbury East Suffolk South Essex Central Essex Ruthamford North Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk Ruthamford South Hartlepool Table 1 Anglian Water Resource Zones

27 19 The forecast RZ supply demand balance in is shown in Figure 5. Under dry year annual average conditions and without investment to maintain the supply-demand balance, we forecast that there will be nine RZs in deficit by Figure WRMP Baseline Average Supply Demand Balance

28 20 Part Two Regional Overview Our water resources management strategy is based on the twin-track approach of promoting demand management in parallel with the development of new water resources to maintain a secure balance between supply and demand. We will always seek to invest in the most cost-beneficial option to meet the forecast demand requirements. We have used industry standard methodologies to review the reliable yields of all of our sources and to calculate deployable output of all existing sourceworks for inclusion within our 2015 WRMP. Deployable outputs are defined as being the supplies available during the worst historical drought within the constraints of the abstraction licence conditions (as issued by the Environment Agency); the hydrological yield, the capacity of the water treatment works and associated plant; and any special agreements to protect the environment. In our 2015 WRMP the demand management options include leakage reduction, pressure management, metering, enhanced metering and water efficiency campaigns. The options that we would seek to promote further during a drought are described further in Section 6.2. The resource investment options that we have identified in our 2015 WRMP to maintain secure supplies throughout the 25 year planning period are illustrated in Figure 6 (overleaf). Our draft WRMP 2014 was used to support our business plan submission to Ofwat for the period (referred to as the 'AMP6 planning period'). There are clear links between our water resource planning and our drought planning as they are both developed using our reference levels of service (see Section 2.3 for more detail) and use a consistent yield assessment methodology in relation to maintaining the supply demand balance. It is, however, important to appreciate that drought planning is not a long-term water resource strategy. Its purpose is to outline our proposed short-term response to conserving and maintaining water supplies and reducing demand experienced in periods of drought. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk

29 21 WRMP Schemes Key to Map: New Water Treatment Works New Source Works RZ in deficit AMP6 Sustainabilty Reduction Schemes Fenland RZ Transfer Reduce Ruthamford North RZ raw water export Ruthamford North RZ Transfer Norwich Intake Relocation Water Reuse River Lark flow augmentation Ruthamford North RZ Transfer East Suffolk RZ transfers to West Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Water Reuse Recommission Ruthamford South RZ reservoir South Essex RZ transfer South Essex RZ Transfer Trade - Extension of Ardleigh Agreement Miles Figure 6 Selected 25 year 2015 WRMP options 2.3 Levels of Service Long-term water resource planning identifies the strategic investment required to maintain our raw water supplies as assessed against the worst historical drought. With the appropriate investment, we will continue to maintain secure supplies to our customers. Our security of supply is assessed on an annual basis for submission to the Director General of Water Services (the Ofwat June Return) in the form of the Security of Supply Index (SoSI). This

30 22 Part Two Regional Overview index allows Ofwat to assess whether we are complying with our duty to safeguard the security of our water supplies. SoSI is used to assess the extent to which we are able to guarantee our planned level of service (LoS) at the end of the report year. Successful delivery of our capital delivery programme between 2005 and 2010 (the AMP4 investment period) including large schemes such as the new Morcott WTW at Rutland Water has meant that we have reported a maximum SoSI score of 100 each year since In preparing our water resources management plan, we evaluated the level of service that we provide to our customers for the security of water supplies through a series of consultations. Customer surveys have confirmed that it is acceptable to apply restrictions on water supplies during a drought. A survey commissioned by the Consumer Council for Water (1) following the temporary use restrictions imposed by some water companies in April 2012 confirmed that 90% of customers believe that it acceptable for water companies to ask them to reduce consumption when there is a drought. In response, we have continued to use the level of service that we used for the calculation of surface water reservoir yields in our previous Water Resources Plan 2004, our Drought Plan 2008 and our Strategic Direction Strategy These are based on the reference levels first defined in the Agenda for Action yield review as required by the Government in 1999, and are as follows: Level of Service 1: Temporary use restrictions not more than one in 10 years. Level of Service 2: Use of drought orders to enforce restriction on non-essential uses and secure raw water resources not more than one in 40 years. Level of Service 3: Imposition of the use of standpipes and rota cuts not more than one in 100 years. Whilst the legislation surrounding temporary use restrictions has changed, we still consider the levels of service, as defined above, to be appropriate. Further detail is provided in Section Through historic and recent investment to secure our vulnerable groundwater sources and our direct river intakes against drought, customers supplied from these sources receive a higher level of service than customers who depend on supplies from reservoirs. Consultation and discussion at national and regional level during the drought highlighted that it is no longer acceptable to include a planned level of service that may result in the imposition of standpipes or rota cuts for our customers. In response to this, and the consultation for our latest water resources management plan, we will start work in AMP6 on the detailed design, planning and further consultation for a new raw water transfer from the River Trent to enhance the levels of service in our Ruthamford supply system. 2.4 Bulk Supply Agreements and Inset Appointments We have long-standing statutory agreements for bulk exports with Affinity Water (Central) and Severn Trent Water. It has been agreed with both water companies that these arrangements will remain in force as reported in our water resources management plan. We also have agreements for bulk imports from Essex and Suffolk Water and Cambridge Water. Details of the quantities are detailed in Table 2. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk 1 Gavin Ellison, G Research into restrictions on the use of water (June 2012). Report by YouGov to CC Water (available here: (last accessed June 2013).

31 23 Agreement Export to Severn Trent from Ruthamford North RZ Export to Veolia Central from Ruthamford South RZ Import from Essex & Suffolk to Essex & Suffolk RZ Emergency supply from Cambridge Water Table 2 Bulk supply agreements Average Ml/d Peak Ml/d We also have a shared water resource with Affinity Water (East) at Ardleigh Reservoir. Under the terms and conditions of the bulk supply arrangements, there is no formal requirement for these companies to impose the same restrictions, although in practice companies plan for similar restrictions when experiencing the same drought conditions. In addition, we have a number of small net transfers with Yorkshire Water, Cambridge Water, Thames Water and an inset appointment with Independent Water Networks Limited (IWNL). In the event of a drought these imports and exports would be subject to the same levels of service as the donor company. Close liaison will be necessary during the onset of a drought to minimise any impact to respective supply areas. Increasing the volumes of water traded between water companies is a key Government initiative and we have previously looked at extending the trading opportunities in East Anglia in a report published jointly with Cambridge Water and Essex & Suffolk Water in November 2011 (2). We extended this work further for the draft WRMP 2014 and it is clear that our ability to trade with other companies is constrained by the potential environmental impacts of increasing the abstraction from the supplying source. There is agreement in principle with Cambridge Water for two new trades to supply water for our Thetford to Bury St Edmunds transfer scheme and also to replace supplies from our Beck Row source, although these will both be subject to ongoing environmental assessments to ensure compliance with the Water Framework Directive. We have discussed the potential for trading between Hartlepool Water and Northumbrian Water, but since both systems are in surplus, it was agreed that there are no immediate opportunities. Details of our current trades and trading options considered in the 2015 WRMP are presented in Figure 7. 2 Trading Theory for Practice (2011) available here: last accessed June 2013.

32 24 Part Two Regional Overview Figure 7 Transfers, existing trades and trades considered in the 2015 WRMP We will maintain regular liaison with neighbouring water companies on the current and future use of all bulk supplies, and will regularly review the bulk supply arrangements during a drought. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk

33 Drought Management and Investment to Date Anglian Water has maintained supplies through four major drought events since privatisation. Prior to the drought event, we had invested in the region of 100 million to improve the resilience of our water supply system against severe drought events. In response to the drought, we identified a further 63m of capital expenditure to 2015, to protect customers' supplies further. The lessons we have identified from our response to previous droughts have informed our current drought plan. Our drought plan has recently been tested during the drought in the Anglian region. We are confident that our drought plan provides a robust framework to enable us to maintain supplies to our customers. There have been a number of droughts that have affected the Anglian region, notably during the 1920s, 1970s, 1990s and more recently in and Each of these periods of exceptionally low rainfall has affected water supplies to various extents, with some affecting parts of our region more severely than others. It was the prolonged drought experienced in that received attention and began to underpin future water resource drought planning for East Anglia Pre-privatisation The very low rainfall experienced during the early part of the summer of 1976, following the dry autumn of 1975, represented the most unfavourable water supply position ever recorded in the Anglian region, resulting in supply issues at many abstraction sources. Early and effective action was necessary to maintain supplies and avoid serious social and economic consequences. Most serious water supply problems were experienced in Northampton, Peterborough, Lincoln and Bedford. Plans were drawn up to reduce consumption and secure additional or alternative supplies to maintain essential supplies. Conservation measures were well under way throughout June 1976, and at the beginning of July hosepipe bans covered most of the region served by Anglian Water Authorities. This was supported by intensive publicity campaigns. The Drought Bill as published on 14 July 1976 introduced a range of emergency measures for conserving water further and maintaining supplies. These activities included pressure reductions, shutting off supplies at night, delivery of water by road tanker to isolated consumers, fast-tracking the completion of scheduled trunk mains construction, commissioning of new boreholes, installation of new booster pumps, curtailment of spray irrigation, additional maintenance to reduce leakage, selective restrictions on non-essential uses and the commissioning of new river intakes and treatment plants. In addition, many industrial customers were reducing demand by being more economical in the use of water and through the promotion of recycling. A selection of these schemes is presented in Figure 8.

34 26 Part Two Regional Overview Figure 8 Pre-Privatisation drought investment Post-privatisation Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk Since privatisation of the water industry in 1989, there have been four periods of drought:1988 to 1992; 1995 to 1997; and 2005 to 2006; and 2011 to During this period, Anglian Water has invested extensively in drought mitigation schemes including: transfer schemes to improve the connectivity of our distribution system; additional treatment capacity; and new boreholes to allow us to maximise the use of our existing abstraction licences. A summary of the location of the larger schemes is presented in Figure 9.

35 27 Figure 9 Post-privatisation drought investment 1988 to 1992 This drought followed the restructuring of the industry, during a period when both the National Rivers Authority (now the Environment Agency) and the newly privatised water company were both developing new strategies. As water levels in aquifers fell to record low values, there were increasing concerns about supplies to areas dependent on groundwater, notably in Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Investment of 37 million was made in new assets in the form of satellite boreholes, inter and intra planning zone transfers and additional treatment capacity, specifically to maintain supplies. Key investments during this drought included the Wing to Etton trunk main duplication; Maltby to Mumby trunk main and booster; the Glentham to Welton main and booster; the Bucklesham transfer; the Whittlesey to March trunk main; and groundwater sources.

36 28 Part Two Regional Overview The introduction of demand management was achieved via publicity campaigns. At the request of the National Rivers Authority, hosepipe bans were also imposed between 1990 and 1992 for customers living in the east of the region. This drought did not have an impact on the surface water sources to the west of our region, where we were able to avoid customer restrictions to 1997 This drought followed closely after the previous one, and the lessons we identified from the earlier drought were applied together with a further investment of circa 42 million in specific drought schemes. Key investments during this drought included the Kenwick Raithby - Stenigot main duplication; the Wing to Peterborough main duplication; the Newton to Grove trunk main; the Kings Delph / March main and booster; water treatment works upgrades and additional satellite boreholes. The joint communications strategy for water conservation between the newly formed Environment Agency and Anglian Water was improved. Together with an increased number of measured customers this ensured that we were able to successfully manage demand and avoided the need to introduce any restrictions. The prospect of the drought continuing for a third year led to a precautionary application for two drought orders in September 1997 to assist with the winter refill of Grafham Water and Pitsford Reservoir. The Planning Inspector s report on the public inquiry supported the need for both drought orders, but the Secretary of State withheld his decision in order to further consider the implications of the newly implemented Habitats Directive. The above-average rainfall during the summer of 1997 continued into the winter and it was possible to withdraw the applications in February Reports from the Environment Agency during the public inquiry highlighted the apparent lack of connectivity between the major reservoirs in the Ruthamford resource zone (now split into Ruthamford North and South in the 2015 WRMP) to 2006 The dry winter of resulted in conditions requiring the Drought Management Team to meet in January 2006 to review forecasts of the effect of a continuing period of below average rainfall and to agree appropriate actions. These were implemented in line with our first statutory drought plan as submitted in draft to Defra in March 2006, and published for consultation in May Actions implemented in line with the draft drought plan included a widespread publicity campaign and enhanced leakage control focused in the south of the region. The campaign was effective and also well perceived by the media industry and was shortlisted in 2006 for the prestigious Utility Industry Achievement awards. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk We also forecast the potential response of groundwater and surface water resources to a third dry winter in As a result we implemented an 18 million investment programme for advancing planned schemes and developing new ones to commission additional boreholes and links within our water distribution network in order to maintain the security of water supplies.

37 29 Key investments during this drought included the installation of new abstraction pumps to maximise the refill opportunities to Rutland Water; the Stoke Ferry to Downham Market main; and investment in groundwater sources in Ipswich and Newmarket. During this time we maintained regular liaison with neighbouring water companies and the Environment Agency to review the water resource situation and to co-ordinate action in managing supplies and demand. The Anglian Region Drought Liaison Group meetings were also attended by Consumer Council for Water (CCWater), Natural England and the National Farmers Union. The Environment Agency and neighbouring water companies also implemented their drought plans in response to the drought. We maintained regular liaison to review the water resource situation and to co-ordinate action in managing supplies and demand to 2012 On the 10 July 2011 the Secretary of State announced that the Environment Agency s Anglian region had moved to drought status, as a result of nearly 6 months of exceptionally low rainfall and the soil moisture deficit being at its highest recorded level. A number of rivers in the region were exceptionally low at the time of the announcement and the Environment Agency was forecasting the situation to deteriorate further. The areas worst affected were catchments in Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, parts of Bedfordshire and the fens in Cambridgeshire. Our Drought Management Team was convened in June 2011 and met on a regular basis until September In December 2011 we moved into Drought status following the second driest year in the 114 year rainfall record. Capital investment was prioritised at three vulnerable groundwater sources in Lincolnshire and Norfolk, and to enhance interconnection in the Ruthamford resource zones (RZs). The localised nature of the 2011 drought resulted in the most significant potential impact on our ability to supply customers in our Ruthamford RZs since the droughts of the early and mid-1990s. The exceptionally low rainfall in 2011 had a significant impact on flows in the River Nene, and affected our ability to refill Pitsford Reservoir and Rutland Water. As a precautionary measure, we applied to the Environment Agency for winter drought permits to alter the licence conditions at our river intakes to maximise the water available for abstraction. Both drought permits were issued in December 2011 and expired in April By March 2012 it was being reported as the driest 18 months ever recorded. The two consecutive dry winters had a significant impact on the water resources situation, and at that time we were growing increasingly concerned about the potential impact of a third-dry winter. The low reservoir situation in March 2012 was compounded by low river flows across the Anglian region impeding refill opportunities. On 5 April 2012 we imposed temporary use restrictions on our customers for the first time in 20 years, alongside six other water companies in the south and east of England. The recovery from the drought was as exceptional as the dry weather that preceded it, with six months of record rainfall from April to September 2013 bringing the drought to a rapid conclusion. Some parts of our region experienced three times the normal amount of rain for April. We lifted the restrictions on 14 June 2012, just 10 weeks after they had started.

38 30 Part Two Regional Overview The level of collaboration and co-operation within the water industry and with the Environment Agency and Defra was high during this drought. The Secretary of State set up the National Drought Group (NDG) in February 2012 in which Anglian Water took a leading role. The purpose and remit of the NDG was to create a single coherent, cross sector team, which was able to manage coordinated delivery of drought management activities, communications and risk mitigation. The NDG was chaired by the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency and other attendees included the Cabinet Office, Defra, National Farmers Union, UK Irrigation Association, Association of Drainage Authorities, Natural England, Blueprint for Water, Water UK, Anglian Water, Thames Water and the Country Land and Business Association. The key recommendations from the NDG included: Improve resilience for future droughts Promote best practice in communications Improve operational management and environmental protection Develop governance arrangements for national water resource management and to prepare for future droughts. In addition to the NDG and together with the Environment Agency we led several national events to encourage the industry and our regulators to understand the true impacts of drought, and ensure better preparedness in the future. Collaborative studies explored a number of water resource and drought mitigation options including bulk transfers and resource sharing between neighbouring water companies. In response to drought conditions, we identified 63 million of capital expenditure to increase our resilience and protect customers supplies. The capital programme to 2015 included investment opportunities to accelerate some supply-demand schemes to commission a number of our licensed abstraction sources, although the requirement to conform with the Water Framework Directive impacted the viability of some schemes. Key investments during this drought have included new groundwater sources, a river augmentation main, booster pumps, Rutland Water refill schemes, leakage enhancement and pressure management. There is ongoing investment in the schemes to advance the investment in various groundwater and surface water sources identified in our water resources management plan, the Central Lincolnshire Trunk Main and the Hannington to Pitsford link. Work is ongoing on the drought schemes at the Marham, Stoke Ferry, Postwick and Pulloxhill water treatment works. Significant appraisal work was also undertaken to understand the feasibility of the Flag Fen water reuse, a canal water transfer vie the Grand Union Canal, the River Trent transfer to Rutland Water, and various other groundwater options. These schemes have been taken to design stage and have either been included as supply-demand or resilience schemes in our 2015 WRMP or packaged on the shelf for future drought resilience options if required. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk In addition to the capital investment and our work at a national level, during the drought we undertook the following actions: To increase communications with our customers and key stakeholders in accordance with our drought communications plan. To lead by example and reduce our leakage levels to 189 Ml/d, which is nearly 10% below our Ofwat target of 211 Ml/d

39 31 To launch our biggest-ever water-saving campaign, Drop 20 in which we asked every customer to reduce their use by 20 litres through extensive advertisements on billboards, bus stops and buses, in newspapers and on the radio. To partner with the Royal Horticultural Society to launch the Potting Shed campaign where customers were invited to sign up for free water-saving packs for the garden. To target the Enhanced Metering programme to strategic areas most at risk. To continue with our enhanced monitoring and regular drought forecasting. To continue with our monitoring programmes and water resources situation forecasting. To report on the effectiveness of the demand management and supply-side management measures associated with the drought permits and temporary use restrictions Lessons Identified from Previous Droughts Our experience of previous droughts has highlighted that the timetable for the introduction of management actions is reactive to both the intensity and the duration of a rainfall deficit. A short intense summer drought will require a different approach to a sequence of winters with below-average recharge to water resources in aquifers and pumped storage reservoirs. The drought was characterised by the impact on groundwater resources and base flows to rivers during the summer of 1991, whereas the drought placed greater stress on surface water storage. The drought primarily impacted the rivers in the west of our region. Our region often experiences periods of low rainfall, which will initially affect our surface water sources over a single season. Where possible in this scenario we would actively seek to maximise conjunctive use of our groundwater sources to reduce demand on surface water sources. Assessment of our groundwater sources and their behaviour in drought scenarios has enabled us to identify and classify drought-vulnerable borehole sources as described in Section 4.3. This has allowed us to plan and mitigate against impacts at these sources during future droughts. Experience of previous drought sequences in our region has underpinned the importance of effective and timely customer and stakeholder communication at the onset of prevailing drought conditions (see the case study below). The requirement for effective engagement with customers via publicity campaigns has been highlighted and we have experience of developing successful campaigns to promote our water efficiency messages (see Appendix 9). The importance of an effective campaign to manage demand cannot be under-estimated. We have a good baseline to launch our campaigns due to the ongoing programme of other demand management measures, such as successful meter penetration, enhanced metering and water efficiency programmes described further Section 6.2. Historically droughts have all ended sharply in response to a period of above-average rainfall, for example the heavy rainfall in the winters of , and This pattern was repeated with the heavy rain of 2012 following the drought. Demand restrictions and drought order applications have been withdrawn as soon as the prevailing conditions allowed. The drought highlighted how the severity of a drought can change over a small distance, such that even within the Ruthamford RZs the River Great Ouse and the River Nene responded very differently to the low rainfall. This response resulted in our Grafham

40 32 Part Two Regional Overview Water reservoir (which relies on refill from the River Great Ouse) remaining in a healthy state whilst storage levels in both Rutland Water and Pitsford Reservoir declined as a result of the low flows in the River Nene. Case Study: River Nene Drought Permits 2011 The importance of collaborative working with key stakeholders was highlighted during the later stages of the summer of Regular drought liaison meetings between the Environment Agency and Anglian Water were instigated shortly after the Anglian region was announced as being in drought in July Concerns expressed by the Environment Agency regarding rainfall and river flows in the Nene catchment prompted detailed reservoir storage projections to be undertaken for a range of flow scenarios, which led us to take the precautionary step of applying for two winter drought permits. We continued to work closely with regional contacts in the Environment Agency to ensure that we addressed all of their concerns in a timely manner. We engaged in early discussions with Natural England and reached agreement on appropriate mitigation measures to ensure that we fulfilled Habitats Directive requirements. We consulted widely and further discussions were also necessary with a number of key stakeholders including angling clubs, district councils and internal drainage boards. The successful and timely outcome of the drought permit application to enable us to secure public water supplies, whilst minimising any environmental impacts and effects on other water users, was helped significantly by the good working relationships between all of our key stakeholders Lessons Identified from the Drought The main legacy of the drought is the recognition that our upstream water resources are not entirely secure against three dry-winters or severe prolonged drought events. This needs to be addressed through additional resilience planning and investment. The areas considered to be at risk of a severe drought event are the Ruthamford resource zones, Norwich, and Kings Lynn. Further work is required to better understand the risks for Ipswich and Colchester. A number of capital investment options were promoted during this drought to help mitigate some of the upstream water resource risks. We were able to fast-track the evaluation process mainly because the need for the schemes had been identified during the Price Review 2009 business planning process and were detailed in our WRMP Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk We will continue to work on the remaining three dry-winter options to develop the capital solutions and ensure that they have been through a full appraisal process. These designed and costed schemes will then be available if the need is identified during future droughts or to increase resilience to our customers. As part of this process we will carry on our discussions with the Environment Agency and Natural England so that we can address any environmental concerns.

41 33 The concerns highlighted in the Ruthamford RZs formed one of the key consultation questions for our Water Resources Management Plan 2015 and PR14 Business Plan, in which we asked our customers to support investment of 400 million, over the next 10 to 15 years, to remove the risk of future rota-cuts or standpipes during extreme drought events. Discussions with the Environment Agency will also be extended to ensure that we consider options for more flexible abstraction licences during future drought periods, to ensure maximum benefit to all water users especially the farming sector. The value of the multi-company and multi-sector approach to successful planning and communication during the drought will be continued through further collaborative projects. Anglian Water has helped to set up the Water Resource East Anglia (WREA) project which is seeking to develop a long-term strategic water resource planning framework for the Anglian region. Current stakeholders included Anglian Water, Affinity Water, Cambridge Water, Essex & Suffolk Water and the Environment Agency. In the future it is expected that the group will expand to include other water companies, as well as representatives from other sectors. The severity of the drought led us to review our emergency plans for extreme restrictions, which highlighted the fact that the widespread use of standpipes and rota-cuts is impractical. We also recognise that these demand restriction options would be unacceptable to the public and, following recent Environment Agency guidance, we are assessing the impact of removing the use of standpipes and rota-cuts from our plans. This would most probably drive the need for significant investment to secure a transfer from the River Trent during extended periods of dry weather in the catchments of the River Great Ouse, the Welland and Nene. Anglian Water will continue to build on the experience from the drought, and in particular we are challenging the current thinking on drought resilience beyond three dry-winters. 2.6 Testing the Drought Plan The drought provided an opportunity to test the effectiveness of our Drought Plan 2008 and to ensure that it was fit for purpose. The Drought Management Team was formed in line with the requirements of our plan and key management actions were followed. Some of the actions in the communications plan were considered to be overly prescriptive and these have now been updated. The communications strategy as presented is now less prescriptive and highlights how we will adapt our communications actions and tactics as the drought develops. The severity of the drought led us to review our governance procedures, and to the formation of a dedicated Central Drought Response Team, including appointment of Head of Drought Response. The team relieved pressure from other business units and provided a central resource to co-ordinate the company response to the drought. Any future decision to set up a similar team would be based on the severity of the drought and would be taken by the established Drought Management Team. We agreed with the Environment Agency that the next revision of our drought plan would include assessments for all of our surface water intakes where future drought management measures may require us to make an application for a drought permit. In August 2011, we committed to the inclusion of additional measures in our draft Drought Plan 2012 and to undertake the associated environmental assessments that would be required to support any

42 34 Part Two Regional Overview future applications. During the drought, we were able to build on the environmental assessments that we produced for the draft Drought Plan 2012 and develop the Environmental Reports which accompanied the successful applications for winter drought permits for the Pitsford and Rutland Water reservoirs. We followed the processes detailed in the draft Drought Plan 2012 to introduce the temporary use restrictions in April Whilst the process was clear, there was quite a lot of confusion regarding the exemptions that we included. This was made somewhat harder by the fact that we opted to implement restrictions at the same time as six other water companies. The industry guidance for the implementation of temporary use restrictions has been updated following experiences from the drought, and we have adopted the best practice in this latest revision of the drought plan. The draft Drought Plan 2012 provided the framework and flexibility required to manage the drought. Lessons identified from this drought have been used to inform our Drought Plan Assessing the Impact of Long Duration Drought and Climate Change Experience shows that short droughts are less common in the Anglian region than other parts of the country. In response to the increased awareness of the need to understand the impacts of long-term, multi-season droughts on our water supply system, two projects were undertaken to assess the vulnerability of water resources in East Anglia. Severe drought project The objective of this project is to assess what impact a severe drought, with three consecutive dry winters, would have on supplies. The project has built on an earlier collaborative project that was undertaken between the Environment Agency, United Utilities and Anglian Water (see Figure 10). Hindcasting regression methods were used to compile rainfall records across the region for the last 200 years. From these, time series of river flow and ground water levels were synthesised at various locations. Long term summer rainfall showed a decrease in mean rainfall over time, while winter rainfall showed an increase. Annual rainfall showed either no trend or an upward trend in data analysed. However, none of the identified trends in the catchment rainfall series was statistically significant. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk

43 35 Figure 10 Severe drought project: reservoir simulation, , under Anglian Water levels of service Reservoir yield assessments (3) showed that the 19th century droughts would not have any impact on the reservoir yields. Further work is being conducted to better understand these trends; to include a review of the variation in reliability of the series between catchments, a comparison of the findings against wider published research and the uncertainties within the data used to derive the modelling input series (rainfall and potential evapotranspiration). For groundwater (4), time series of water levels at 11 key observation boreholes across the region were generated using statistical hindcasting based around one, two or three year droughts. The results showed that because of the variability in hydrogeology at each borehole, no one historic drought impacted all aquifers in the same way, and the year of minimum groundwater levels was different for most boreholes. Furthermore, there is little difference between minimum groundwater levels modelled after two dry winters and those after a third dry winter at most observation boreholes: some form of significant recharge has always tended to occur in any three-year period over the last 200 years. As a result of this, recent droughts appear to be almost as severe as anything that has occurred since There is no statistically significant difference between minimum drought groundwater levels experienced in the last 20 years and those prior to the historic water level record. Therefore for groundwater sources, deployable outputs based on the recent 40 year records are considered representative of the last 200 years (see Figure 11). 3 Mott MacDonald for Anglian Water, June Severe Drought Study Surface water modelling 4 Mott MacDonald for Anglian Water, January Severe Drought Study Impacts on Groundwater Potential Yield

44 36 Part Two Regional Overview Modelled Observed Error Bars Average difference between modelled and observed = m 45 Annual Minimum Groundwater Level (maod) Year Figure 11 Modelled vs Observed Hydrographs for the period of borehole monitoring Impacts of climate change on source yields A climate change yield assessment of all Anglian Water s groundwater and surface water sources was carried out to support the Water Resources Management Plan All surface water sources were assessed using an ensemble of 100 UKCP09 (5) climate change scenarios. The scenarios indicate that future climate will be drier, with a general decrease in precipitation and increase in potential evapotranspiration. The surface water yields resulting from these scenarios show a decreasing trend when compared to baseline calculations (without application of any demand restrictions). The range of changes is large for both reservoirs and direct intakes (see Figure 12), with the latter having a larger range in yield results due to the lack of storage in the system. The reservoirs shown to be affected the most are Grafham Water, Rutland Water and Alton Water. When Levels of Service restrictions are applied, the yields generally increase for all reservoirs resulting in more climate change scenario yields being higher than the baseline. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk For groundwater, a sub-sample of 20 UKCP09 scenarios was generated using recharge indicators and adjusted climate series. We then worked collaboratively with the Environment Agency and used their regional groundwater model to assess the impacts of each scenario on groundwater levels. Drought vulnerable boreholes where then assessed for any resulting impact on yield and source output. Only five groundwater sources in Norfolk and Suffolk were shown to have a loss of deployable output in response to climate change impacts on yield (see Figure 13). The maximum range in impacts on total groundwater deployable output is predicted to be between -19 Ml/d and +9 Ml/d. The median predicted impact is -0.1 Ml/d. The worst case impact of climate change (a loss of 19 Ml/d) is equivalent to approximately 2.5% of the total groundwater output, which demonstrates the overall resilience of the groundwater system to climate change. 5 Murphy et al, UK Climate Projections science report: Climate change projections (UKCP09).

45 37 iéîéäë=çñ=péêîáåé=oéëéêîçáê=váéäç=oéëìäíë QMM PRM PMM váéäç=ejälçf ORM OMM NRM ORBáäÉ jáåáãìã _~ëéäáåé jé~å j~ñáãìã TRBáäÉ NMM RM M ^äíçå ^êçäéáöü `çîéåü~ã cçñåçíé dê~ñü~ã máíëñçêç o~îleçä oìíä~åç Figure 12 Box plots showing the impacts of climate change on surface water reservoir yields NR fãé~åí=çñ=`äáã~íé=`ü~åöé=çå=öêçìåçï~íéê=váéäç=ñçê=cáîé=pçìêåéë=~í=êáëâ=çñ=äçëë=çñ=al=~åêçëë=ñìää= ê~åöé=áå=ëåéå~êáçë NM fãé~åí=çå=váéäç=ejälçf R M JR JNM JNR aáçäáåöíçå j~êü~ã içåö=eáää pçìíüñáéäçë jçìäíçå qçí~ä JOM M NM OM PM QM RM SM TM UM VM NMM `äáã~íé=méêåéåíáäé Figure 13 Impact of Climate Change on groundwater Yield for Five Sources at risk of loss of DO across full range in scenarios

46 38 Part Two Regional Overview Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk

47 Part Three Drought Management Strategy

48 40 Part Three Drought Management Strategy 3 Drought Management Strategy Part Three of our drought plan presents the strategy and technical detail around how we propose to manage public water supplies during the onset and prevailing conditions of a drought. This part of the plan includes the following sections: Our drought management process detailing how we manage our water resources from normal conditions through to drought. Our drought triggers and scenario testing, which highlights how we identify the different stages of a drought and when we implement drought management actions. Our methodology for drought forecasting detailing how we project the effects of prolonged rainfall deficits. Our measures for managing supplies and demand during drought periods, including details of how we would seek to implement restrictions on customer use. Our environmental assessments and monitoring plan detailing how we would seek to minimise the impacts of our drought actions on the environment. Our management structure and communications plan. And the post-drought actions that we will undertake at the end of a drought. Our drought management strategy incorporates a range of drought management activities and decisions that are aligned to the onset of a drought, as defined either by the Environment Agency or ourselves as the potential risk to supply increases during a prolonged period of low rainfall. The process that we follow during the progression from normal to potential drought to drought are summarised in the following sections. 3.1 Drought Management Process This section describes the drought management process we have in place to maintain security of supplies to our customers as we move from normal conditions through to drought conditions. Each drought is different in terms of location, intensity, duration and hence impact. The drought management process needs to provide a flexible framework of options that will allow us to respond most effectively to a drought in the most appropriate way for a wide range of drought situations. Our drought management process has been developed for our region; it is relevant and realistic for our operating systems and circumstances. Figure 14 outlines the framework for our drought management process. The drought management actions and responsibilities for delivery, as drought conditions prevail, are defined in Sections 3.2 to 3.5. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk We have a sound management structure and experience in drought management, which enables us to respond effectively and responsibly to the onset and development of a drought. Our Drought Management Team comprises:

49 41 Director of Water Services. Asset Management Director. Regulation Director. Director of Corporate Affairs. Head of Water Resources. The Drought Management Team will be responsible for making key business decisions that may be required as a direct result of the impact of drought. The Drought Management Team is supported by a team of technical experts throughout the business with experience of managing drought events since privatisation. In addition, we have an established succession plan to develop water resource specialists in the area of drought management. Our experience from the drought highlighted the importance in establishing a dedicated Central Drought Response Team to co-ordinate the key activities through a developing drought including communications, tactical operational decisions, planning and capital delivery. Full details of the Drought Management Team and their roles are provided in Section 8.

50 42 Part Three Drought Management Strategy Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk Figure 14 Drought management process

51 Management Actions during Normal (non-drought) Conditions During normal (non-drought) conditions we receive and collate the weekly meteorological data described in Table 3. Parameter Rainfall Potential Evaporation (PE) Actual evaporation (AE) Soil moisture deficit (SMD) Mean temperature Definition Average weekly rainfall for our region (millimetres) A measure of the ability of the atmosphere to remove water from the surface through the processes of evaporation and transpiration assuming no control on water supply (millimetres) The quantity of water that is actually removed from a surface owing to the processes of evaporation and transpiration (millimetres) The amount of rainfall required to replenish water loss due to plant growth and evaporation (high figures indicate a dry soil) (millimetres) Weekly mean temperature (Celsius) Table 3 Weekly meteorological data collected under normal conditions In addition to meteorological data that we receive from the Meteorological Office, the Environment Agency sends us a copy of its monthly situation reports, which include the following information: Summary information. Rainfall statistics. Soil moisture deficit and groundwater recharge data. River flows. Groundwater levels in key observation boreholes. Public water supply reservoir storage levels. We also collect hydrometric data, which we routinely share with the Environment Agency. These include water levels in our own boreholes and reservoirs; groundwater levels from observation boreholes used for environmental monitoring purposes; and the flow in rivers from which we abstract water for operational purposes. We rely primarily on data collected via our telemetry system, but also on data collected by members of our operational teams. The hydrometric data are used to produce a monthly water resources situation report, which enables us to monitor any regional or sub-regional variations that may indicate the potential onset of drought. We closely monitor our groundwater levels and reservoir storage levels to assess the status of resources available for water supply. We also monitor our daily abstraction data and demand data based on distribution input. This allows us to manage demands at an operational level and is also used to determine levels of leakage. We also use these data to manage abstraction licence compliance and to monitor the approach of any cessation limits or associated licence conditions (further

52 44 Part Three Drought Management Strategy details are provided in Section 4). The implementation of licence cessation conditions is triggered by notification from the Environment Agency, based on data gathered via their hydrometric network. We operate 15 support schemes across the region (as listed in Table 4). The triggers are usually conditions written into our abstraction licences and are based on river flows or water quality as monitored and advised by the Environment Agency. The river support schemes comprise boreholes that are used to support rivers with abstracted groundwater and are operated to support flows and river ecology at times of stress. These support schemes are operated over a range of different conditions, which cover all stages of drought. Owing to the localised nature of these schemes, it is possible that some may be operational during times that we would classify as normal (non-drought) conditions. River River Waveney Laceby Beck River Freshney River Deben River Tas River Tas River Stiffkey River Stiffkey River Colne Ditch system adjacent to River Bure Cley Hall Marshes West Earlham & Bowthorpe Marshes Conard Mere Stamford Mill Stream Taverham Mill Lake Support scheme Billingford Laceby Barnoldby Winston Caistor St Edmunds Bixley Binham Houghton St Giles Great Yeldham Coldham Hall Glandford Bowthorpe Bures Road Tinwell Costessey Table 4 River support schemes Table 5 outlines the management actions that we undertake as part of our normal operations under non-drought conditions. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk

53 45 Actions Review, and if necessary update the drought plan Monitor daily abstraction data against licence conditions and cessation limits Operate river support schemes and comply with Section 20 agreements Monitor sources outputs and resource yield assessments and predictions Triggers In line with annual WRMP review Ongoing Ongoing Responsibility Water Resources Monitor daily reservoir storage and forward details (% fill) to Environment Agency Monitor rainfall, mean temperature, evaporation, soil moisture deficit and reservoir storage Publish hydrological data on Anglian Water intranet Monitor water levels and flows as required for routine licence compliance and report to Environment Agency Monitor groundwater levels at key Environment Agency observation boreholes Circulate water resource situation update to Anglian Water Management Board and publish on Anglian Water intranet Undertake environmental monitoring and/or modelling as required for drought permit sites Provide input into Environment Agency, water company regional liaison meetings Respond to concerns on water sources and resources Respond to concerns on environmental impact or derogation of protected rights Maintain level and flow-monitoring equipment to allow for input of data to archive systems Record manual measurements of water levels for operational boreholes Maintain augmentation and river support schemes Maintain ongoing 'Waterwise' messages Respond to external requests for information including Environment Agency, Defra and WaterUK Weekly Weekly Weekly Monthly Monthly Monthly As identified in environmental assessments Quarterly Reports received Reports received Ongoing Monthly Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Water Resources Water Services Communications Table 5 Management actions during normal (non-drought) conditions

54 46 Part Three Drought Management Strategy 3.3 Recognising the start of a Drought Successful water resource planning is underpinned by the ability to manage critical drought conditions that are a feature in the Anglian region, and to a lesser extent in the Hartlepool area, without incurring undue impact on our customers or the environment. The following hydrometric indicators will be used as the basis of an assessment as to whether we are changing drought status: Historical rainfall records are used to identify periods of exceptionally low rainfall events that may precede a drought. Rainfall is monitored against long-term rainfall records (of different periods), as illustrated in Figure 15. Elevated soil moisture deficits (SMD) reported for our region. These are monitored against historical seasonal variations. High SMDs during winter would indicate delayed seasonal recharge to groundwater resources. Groundwater levels from observation boreholes close to our pumped borehole sources. The levels have been used to develop drought alert curves for our groundwater resources, based on behaviour in historical droughts. Reservoir storage levels are monitored. Normal operating levels have been developed to identify potential drought triggers. Surface water flows are measured and determine direct river abstraction drought triggers Cumulative rainfall (mm) Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk Figure 15 Anglian region cumulative rainfall for 18 month periods starting in October in each year from 1899 to 2013 (dashed grey lines are upper ( ) and lower ( ) bounds; dashed orange line is ; red line is ) Groundwater resources and reservoir storage are dependent upon winter rainfall for recharge and refill. Low rainfall during winter and spring provide an early indication of potential drought conditions, whilst groundwater level and reservoir storage signal the status of water resources available for water supplies.

55 47 We will continue to work closely with the Environment Agency, and it is possible that there will be occasions when the environmental indicators are such that the Environment Agency may declare that they have crossed a trigger that will advance their own drought status ahead of those that we require to manage public water supplies. Drought triggers are used to instigate the decision-making process (ordinarily via the Drought Management Team) for determining the most appropriate course of action. We use a range of triggers for our reservoirs, direct abstraction river intakes and vulnerable groundwater sources to identify what actions to take and when to do so. As each drought is unique, there is unlikely to be any single trigger that will indicate a change of status from normal to potential drought status but more often a combination of factors that will be considered by the Water Resources Management Team. These triggers are detailed further in Section 4.

56 48 Part Three Drought Management Strategy 3.4 Management Actions during Potential Drought Conditions One of the first management actions that results from a move to Potential Drought status is to convene the Drought Management Team. The additional actions detailed in Table 6 will be undertaken once we have moved into Potential Drought status. Actions Convene Drought Management Team Commence implementation of Communications Strategy as in Appendix 9 / raise awareness and secure water savings through demand management Initiate additional modelling of reservoirs and predictions of impact on trigger levels Monitor weekly SMDs Monitor drought vulnerable borehole sources for approach to deepest advisable pumping water levels (DAPWLs) and impact on deployable output Monitor reservoir levels for approach to associated trigger levels Monitor direct river intakes against appropriate river flow recession analysis Operation of sourceworks to maximise security of water resources Review and increase ecological drought monitoring in key catchments to support drought permit applications Drought liaison (including provision of data) with the Environment Agency and other organisations Identify environmental mitigation measures Manage licence restriction clauses Triggers Potential drought conditions reported Decision made by Drought Management Team Potential drought conditions observed Drought conditions prevail Responsibility for monitoring triggers and taking action Director of Water Services Communications Water Resources Water Resources & Water Services Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk Operate augmentation schemes Review supply-side management options Conditions outlined in the licence/operating terms Potential drought conditions reported

57 49 Actions Review borehole pumping water levels and prioritise borehole replacement programmes Prioritise investment programme Consider opportunities to reduce leakage Respond to internal/external reports of low flows etc Determine the need for drought permits (on a precautionary basis) Agree and submit application for winter drought permit to Environment Agency Move to Drought status Triggers Drought conditions prevail Drought conditions prevail Reports received Reservoir storage projections Prevailing drought conditions Recommendation of Drought Management Team in relation to drought triggers Responsibility for monitoring triggers and taking action Water Resources Drought Management Team Director of Water Services Communications & Water Resources Water Resources Anglian Water Management Board & Water Resources Director of Water Services Table 6 Management actions during potential drought conditions 3.5 Management Actions during Drought Conditions At the stage when a drought develops to the extent that it is having an impact on our operations, or when we are concerned about the potential risk to water supplies, we will have entered full drought conditions. Our efforts to safeguard public water supplies will increase significantly and will include the management actions detailed in Table 7. The overall responsibility for agreeing all of these associated actions will rest with the Drought Management Team. Actions Develop and approve programme of works as necessary to secure deployable outputs and to reinforce water transfer to maintain secure supplies Promote opportunities to reduce leakage Implement elements of the communications strategy as detailed in Appendix 9 Triggers Drought conditions prevail Drought conditions prevail Decision made by Drought Management Team Responsibility for monitoring triggers and taking action Drought Management Team Director of Water Services Communications Additional hydrometric monitoring (dependent on drought type/severity) Drought conditions prevail Water Resources

58 50 Part Three Drought Management Strategy Actions Ecological drought monitoring as detailed in the Environment Drought monitoring plan Carry our drought mitigation actions Review need to set up Regional or National drought groups with Environment Agency, neighbouring water companies and/or Water UK Establish need for Strategic Communications Group through Water UK to co-ordinate customer and media information Approve imposition of demand management restrictions (temporary use restrictions) Implement demand restrictions Determine the need for drought permits Agree and submit application for drought permit to Environment Agency Determine need to apply for drought orders - non-essential use Agree and submit application for drought order to Secretary of State Manage transfer/augmentation/section 20 agreement conditions Respond to internal/external reports of low flows etc Return to normal monitoring, relaxation of drought management actions Triggers Drought conditions prevail Liaison with Environment Agency drought teams Prevailing drought conditions Approval to implement demand restrictions Reservoir management curves Appropriate reservoir level triggers Reservoir storage projections Prevailing drought conditions Decision by Drought Management Team Prevailing drought conditions Drought conditions prevail Reports received Recommendation of Drought Management Team Responsibility for monitoring triggers and taking action Water Resources Water Resources Drought Management Team Communications Drought Management Team Water Resources, Regulation Water Resources Anglian Water Management Board & Water Resources Water Resource & Legal Anglian Water Management Board & Water Resources Asset Management & Water Services Water Resources & Communications Director of Water Services Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk Table 7 Management actions during drought conditions

59 Part Three Drought Triggers and Scenarios

60 52 Part Three Drought Triggers and Scenarios 4 Drought Triggers and Scenarios This section of our drought plan describes the hydrological and environmental triggers we have developed for our sources to identify the onset of drought conditions. These are outlined for our sources as follows: Reservoirs. Direct river intakes. Drought-vulnerable groundwater sources. Drought triggers are used to identify when specific drought actions should be considered for implementation. Drought triggers have been developed to aid the decision-making process as part of a framework for drought management, in combination with professional judgement and available information during each specific drought situation. Ongoing monitoring is essential to identify potential drought conditions. Aquifer recharge and reservoir refill are the most critical issues in autumn and winter, whereas surface water flows are the most critical in spring and summer. There is a normal operating range that is observed for surface water reservoirs, direct river intakes and groundwater sources. Their trends in relation to approaching trigger levels are important in assessing the risk of potential drought conditions. The triggers for surface water reservoirs are the reservoir management curves. The triggers for direct river intakes and groundwater sources are based on an assessment of hydrographs approaching levels that affect the individual source yields. Drought triggers are designed to allow appropriate lead-in time for the preparation and implementation of specific actions. This is especially important for the following drought management actions: Customer communications strategy. Implementation of temporary restrictions. Application process for drought permits and drought orders. Drought triggers have been developed using a combination of historical rainfall records, reservoir levels, measured and synthesised river flows and groundwater water levels. Drought scenarios are used to demonstrate how our proposed drought actions would be implemented and to assess the effectiveness of drought triggers. We have investigated a range of historical droughts to demonstrate how the proposed drought actions would be managed under the current water resource infrastructure, demands and operational assumptions (see Section 4.4). Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk We have assessed our surface water and groundwater drought vulnerable sources and their response to the worst historical drought for each individual source. The response of surface and groundwater sources to historical droughts is variable. This is because of the different characteristics of each source and how it reacts to drought conditions. The responses range from single-season critical (for example Ardleigh Reservoir), to two-season critical (for example Alton Water or Southfields groundwater source) and multi-season critical (for example Covenham Reservoir or our drought vulnerable groundwater sources).

61 53 The drought plan is designed as an operational plan and its purpose is to identify the triggers and actions that would be taken with our existing infrastructure. It does not account for the long-term effects of climate change in any of our scenario assessments. 4.1 Reservoirs We operate eight reservoirs, five of which (Rutland Water, Grafham Water, Pitsford, Ravensthorpe and Hollowell) form a partially integrated supply system known as Ruthamford. For water resource planning purposes this system has now been divided into two zones, Ruthamford North and Ruthamford South. The remaining three reservoirs are Covenham, Alton Water and Ardleigh. Ardleigh Reservoir is jointly owned with Affinity Water (East) and operated under the provisions of the Ardleigh Reservoir Order under the governance of the Ardleigh Reservoir Committee. Foxcote reservoir near Milton Keynes is not currently in use but the option to recommission it is included in our Water Resources Management Plan 2015, and it was identified as an option to be advanced during the drought. We have disposed of Crookfoot and Hurworth Burn reservoirs in the Hartlepool area as they are no longer required to supply non-potable industrial demand. Details of the methodology used to produce the reservoir management strategy are provided in Appendix 4. Continuous monitoring records the storage levels at each of our operational reservoirs and the data are collated to provide a continuous profile of historical storage levels. The reservoir storage levels are presented with reference to reservoir control curves, which define the refill target and response to drought. These data are provided on a weekly basis to the Environment Agency Reservoir Control Curves Reservoir storage is currently managed by reference to operating curves as shown in Figure 16 and described below. Figure 16 Example of reservoir control and trigger curves

62 54 Part Three Drought Triggers and Scenarios Normal Operating Curve The normal operating curve is essentially a storage target to ensure security of water supply should the reservoir experience a drought equivalent in severity to any that has occurred between 1920 and Maintaining storage at the normal operating curve does not protect the reservoir storage and security of supply should there be a drought more severe than occurred in the period 1920 to The impact of droughts earlier than 1920 are the subject of a current study and are discussed further in Section Drought Management Curves For each reservoir there are four drought management curves, an upper drought alert curve (DAC) and three trigger curves associated with our levels of service (LoS); Trigger curve 1: increase publicity and public awareness to conserve water and impose temporary use restrictions. Trigger curve 2: further publicity and ban on non-essential use. Trigger curve 3: rota cuts and standpipes. The levels of service are consistent with our water resources management plan and enable effective and timely responses to the onset of potential drought conditions to be managed. The drought management curves for each reservoir are included in Appendix 4. Drought Alert Curve The drought alert curve is the highest of the four curves and is a signal that reservoir storage is approaching the level where we would assess the need to deploy alternative, customer-directed demand-side measures. Storage falling towards the drought alert curve would initiate internal liaison within Anglian Water about the need for the Drought Management Team to convene. We would also increase our liaison with the Environment Agency. The drought alert curve has been calculated to allow approximately 6 weeks of storage above the LoS trigger curve 1. This is based on the analysis of simulated maximum drawdown rates during the period 1920 and 2012, using current demand figures. The specific actions that would be taken at this stage would be dependent on a range of factors, including time of year, antecedent conditions, reservoir projections, meteorological projections, reservoir vulnerability and the nature of the individual supply system. Levels of Service (LoS) Trigger Curves Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk When storage crosses any of the three LoS trigger curves, further actions would be required to reduce demand and prolong the security of supply. The actions would be subject to approval by the Drought Management Team and/or the Anglian Water Management Board, following close liaison with the Environment Agency, other regulators and our customers. The conservation measures for each level of service are detailed in Table 8.

63 55 Drought management curves Actions Demand saving % Frequency Drought alert curve Indication that reservoir storage is approaching the level where we would need to increase our customer awareness N/A As required Drought Management Team would complete a situation review Liaison would be initiated with the Environment Agency to mobilise resources for future actions LoS 1 Publicity; temporary water use restrictions, supported by the appropriate consultation 5 1 in 10 years LoS 2 Large-scale publicity campaign to induce voluntary savings; enact restrictions on commercial non-essential use (drought orders) 10 1 in 40 years Application and imposition of supply side actions requiring drought permits/orders to secure additional water resources LoS 3 The implementation of standpipe and rota cuts to different areas in 100 years Table 8 Surface water drought management trigger curves Derivation of drought management curves for all reservoirs are included in Appendix 4 and full details of the demand-side and supply-side management actions are included in Section 6.3. The bulk supplies provided from Grafham Water to Affinity Water and from Rutland Water to Severn Trent are subject to bulk supply arrangements agreed with respective recipient companies. For the purpose of reservoir operation and yield analysis we assume the same demand restrictions will be introduced to all supplied customers Variations to Drought Management on Reservoir Control Curves Our assessment of reservoir yields and the derivation of the three LoS trigger curves assumes that we will realise a demand saving of 5 per cent resulting from the imposition of temporary use restrictions (see Table 8 and in accordance with industry best practice). The introduction of the Water Use (Temporary Bans) Order 2010 (see Section for full details) enables us to impose a wider number of restrictions and we have assessed whether this could result in any greater demand savings (see Appendix 2). If we assume that garden use is mainly via use of hosepipes, then an assessment of micro-component data from our

64 56 Part Three Drought Triggers and Scenarios WRMP and from work undertaken by UKWIR (6) suggests that the implementation of restrictions using the new powers would reduce consumption by 6.1 per cent on average for unmeasured and measured customers. This is comparable with the assessment of savings that we made following the temporary use restrictions that we imposed in We have tested whether this increase in demand savings would have any significant impact on our modelling of the LoS trigger curves. Details of the sensitivity testing on two reservoirs of differing sizes, hydrological characteristics and demand pressures is included in Appendix 4. It has been concluded that there is no significant change to the LoS trigger curves or the subsequent operation of our reservoirs. We do not, therefore, propose any material change to the levels of service as calculated for the WRMP or Drought Plan. 4.2 Direct Supply River Intakes We hold abstraction licences for eight direct supply river intakes, seven of which are currently operational (see Apppendix 5 for details). Overall direct river intakes account for less than 5 per cent of water supplied to our customers in the Anglian region. Direct river abstractions rely on prevailing river flows and have no associated seasonal storage in the form of reservoirs. Analysis for each intake is provided in Appendix 5. Most of our river intakes include a licence condition that specifies a minimum river flow for environmental protection below which we are not authorised to abstract water. We rely on close liaison with the Environment Agency to monitor any flow or level conditions associated with the licences at each of our direct river intakes. Assessment has shown that three of the direct intakes are less resilient in a drought and triggers for drought management actions have been defined for the intakes from the River Nar, the River Wissey and the River Wensum in Norwich. Details of the triggers for each intake are included in Appendix 5. Triggers are based on a combination of the worst recorded river flows, licence conditions and pumping constraints and are used to develop a sequence of operational actions that would enable the output of the sourceworks to be secured. Details of the drought management actions for each of the operational direct supply river intakes are included in Section Groundwater systems We have 200 groundwater abstraction sources comprising, in total, 450 operational boreholes. These range in depth from 10 to 500m and penetrate a variety of aquifers. Our principal source of groundwater is from the Chalk, but the other aquifers we abstract from include the Lincolnshire Limestone, Sherwood Sandstone, Magnesian Limestone, Lower Greensand, Spilsby Sandstone, Sandringham Sands and a combination of Crag, sands and gravels. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk The potential yield for each of our groundwater sources is calculated in accordance with the industry-accepted UKWIR methodology (7). Detail of the assessment methodology is included in Appendix 6. 6 Drought and Demand: Modelling the impact of Restrictions on Demand During Drought (07/WR/02/ UKWIR 2007) 7 A methodology for the determination of outputs Groundwater sources, UKWIR, 1995

65 57 All of our groundwater sources are continuously monitored and regularly reviewed for indications of any changes in key parameters. The potential for reductions in yields for groundwater supplies is particularly acute during periods of drought when low groundwater levels increase the risk of operational pumping water levels approaching or breaching their defined deepest advisable pumping water levels (DAPWLs) as illustrated in Figure 17. The DAPWL may be set at the point where a principle flow horizon starts to dewater when the piezometric surface lowers. Groundwater sources that rely on discrete high level flow horizons may be particularly vulnerable to the onset of a drought. Figure 17 UKWIR summary diagram for drought vulnerable groundwater sources Drought Vulnerable Groundwater Sources We have identified 19 operational sources that are considered to be drought vulnerable to varying degrees. The risk that drought may result in a loss of deployable output at each of these sources has been evaluated by a consideration of:

66 58 Part Three Drought Triggers and Scenarios Historical occurrence of low water levels approaching the DAPWL. Likelihood of regional drought occurring within an 18-month period. The probable impact of any drought-related loss in potential yield having an impact on the source s ability to meet demand. The locations of our drought-vulnerable groundwater sources are shown in Figure 18. Figure 18 Drought vulnerable groundwater sources The drought vulnerability of our groundwater sources is based on previous experience and available data. The potential impact of a severe long-term (or multi-season) drought is currently being assessed and has been described further in Section 2.4. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk Abstraction from a number of our groundwater sources is restricted through licence reduction clauses as specified by the Environment Agency. These are primarily groundwater level conditions imposed for environmental reasons. During the drought we identified a second tier of vulnerable groundwater sources to be monitored under more extreme drought

67 59 conditions and details are provided in Appendix 6. Impacts on deployable output of the source are included in our long-term water resources management plan and there are no specific drought management actions associated with these sources Groundwater Drought Alert Curves The Environment Agency has a network of observation boreholes that are used to monitor regional groundwater levels, across various aquifer units. Groundwater drought alert curves have been developed for each aquifer monitoring borehole that is in close proximity to one of our drought-vulnerable sources (see Figure 19). Figure 19 Map of Environment Agency monitoring boreholes The aim of this alert curve is to provide an early indication of the potential onset of drought at least 6 to 12 months in advance, taking account of natural seasonal variation. Drought alert curves consider aquifer characteristics and individual trends in water levels. The drought alert curve for each source has been calculated using the worst historical drought recession curve for each corresponding observation borehole. An example is presented in Figure 20.

68 60 Part Three Drought Triggers and Scenarios Figure 20 Groundwater drought curve based on actual historical recession For those boreholes that have significant seasonal variation in water levels and large annual recessions where a drought could occur with only a 3 to 4-month warning the drought alert curve has been calculated statistically by determining the worst level experienced in each month that is exceeded once in every 5-year period. This approach provides an early indication of the potential for drought conditions to occur in sources that are sensitive to summer demands and are at greater risk of drought. Drought alert curves for all our drought-monitoring boreholes are provided in Appendix 6. Given the complex nature of most of the distribution systems supplied by groundwater sources, the groundwater drought alert curves are not designed to result in any specific drought restrictions to customers. Crossing a groundwater alert curve would, however, instigate the framework for drought management actions as the severity of the drought increases or recedes. 4.4 Scenario Modelling Historical drought sequences have been used to demonstrate how our drought management actions for surface water reservoirs would be implemented over a range of drought scenarios. We have considered the following scenarios: Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk Short duration, single-season drought (typically 6 to 12 months). Medium duration, multi-season drought (1-2 years, consisting of two dry summers and an intervening dry winter). Long-term drought (typically lasting over two years).

69 61 Droughts have been selected for each reservoir based on an assessment of local river flow deficits compared to the historical average. The period over which reservoir storage was assessed covers a range of droughts of differing durations and magnitudes. We have been able to identify the most vulnerable scenarios for each of our reservoirs as detailed in Table 9. Reservoir Historical drought period Short Medium long Drought vulnerability Alton Water Medium Ardleigh Short Covenham Long Grafham Water Medium Rutland Water Medium Northampton (Ravensthorpe, Pitsford and Hollowell) Medium Table 9 Droughts selected for reservoir scenario management and their period of impact Further details of the assessments can be found in Appendix 4. Drought scenario modelling demonstrates some of the management decisions that we would take during a drought and the measures that we would take at each reservoir. The scenario modelling has confirmed the fact that each reservoir responds differently to a drought, as a result of the hydrological characteristics of the contributing catchments, the differing demand pressures relative to the yield and the management options that are available. The available reservoir yield assessment models have been used to assess the impacts on reservoir storage under this range of scenarios using an established methodology. We have not assessed the direct intakes or drought-vulnerable groundwater sources to the same extent, but will review this further following the outcome of the long-duration drought project.

70 62 Part Three Drought Triggers and Scenarios Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk

71 Part Three Drought Forecasting

72 64 Part Three Drought Forecasting 5 Drought Forecasting This section of our drought plan describes how continuous monitoring of all of our sources enables us to forecast the likely impact of drought under our current operating system. Drought forecasting is described in the following categories: Reservoirs. Direct river intakes. Drought-vulnerable groundwater sources. The results of our forecasting are used in our decision analysis when assessing future drought risk and required actions. Continuous monitoring of rainfall, soil moisture deficit, reservoir storage levels, river flows and groundwater levels enable us to assess the risk of drought and its influence on our water resources. Hydrological analysis and short/medium-term forecasting is an important tool in predicting the impact of different scenarios. This enables the Drought Management Team to implement appropriate drought measures in order to maintain security of supplies. 5.1 Reservoir Drought Forecasting Reservoir level monitoring via telemetry is undertaken on a continuous basis. Understanding the potential onset of a drought is achieved by assessing the current storage relative to the target level expected for that time of year. Forecasting future reservoir levels allows us to assess the potential impacts of a drought and take proportionate action. We use our strategic water supply system model (MISER) to project reservoir storage under a range of river flow scenarios and to inform our assessment of security of supplies to the respective supply areas. Storage is modelled using current river abstraction pumping constraints, and includes expected planned asset outage, but assumes 100 per cent refill efficiency with no unplanned outage. In periods of prolonged rainfall deficit we would complete reservoir projections on a routine basis to inform the Drought Management Team. The Environment Agency categorise flows at a number of gauging sites based on analysis of historical data. A minimum of 30 years worth of fully validated monthly mean flow data is analysed for each month, ranked, and assessed for return periods (as defined in Table 10). Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk

73 65 Probability category Normal (N) Below normal (BN) Notably low (NL) Exceptionally low (EL) Return period probability (years) 1:4 1:4 to 1:8 1:8 to 1:20 >1:20 Table 10 River flow categorisation, based on Environment Agency return period probabilities We have used the Environment Agency return period category values as the basis of deriving exceptionally low, notably low, below normal, normal, above normal and notably high flow series, with the middle point of each category band used as an average category monthly flow series. This allows us to project river flows as illustrated in Figure 21. Figure 21 Recorded flows at Duston vs the model inflows for 'average' and 'dry' scenarios These projected flows would then be used to project reservoir storage levels in the short to medium-term future as shown in Figure 22.

74 66 Part Three Drought Forecasting Figure 22 Pitsford Reservoir storage projection The main objective of the modelling is to: Project reservoir storage, under a range of river flow scenarios, accounting for current reservoir levels, licence usage and planned outage. Identify any potential demand deficits within the supply system. The results of the modelling are used as part of our decision analysis when assessing the future drought risk and required actions. 5.2 Direct River Intake Drought Forecasting Flows that support our direct supply intakes are assessed on a routine basis. Projections of river flows at direct intakes are completed based on an assessment of historical river flows and taking account of the main operating constraints such as the minimum residual flow (MRF) licence requirements and minimum pump capacities at the respective intakes. The potential operations of direct supply intakes are projected using Environment Agency flow categories as described in Section 5.1 and the worst historical recorded flows. An example of a projection using this approach, as completed for our abstraction intake on the River Wensum in Norwich, is presented in Figure 23. We also use rainfall-runoff models to simulate river flow projections based on specific rainfall scenarios. This supplements the use of historical flow data for the planning of future drought impacts to aid with supply forecasting and drought management decision making. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk

75 67 Figure 23 Flow categories, pumping constraints and recorded flows in the River Wensum Examples of projections that we carried out in 2006 for our intakes of the River Wensum, the River Nar and the River Wissey are presented in Appendix Groundwater Source Drought Forecasting Forecasting the likely impacts on groundwater source potential yields is based on the collection of accurate historical flow and water level data and consideration of master recession curves for each aquifer sub-unit. Continuous monitoring at our drought-vulnerable sources is provided by our telemetry system. Water levels are also monitored at observation boreholes managed by the Environment Agency. Monthly water level updates provided from the Environment Agency are plotted and indicate actual recession curves as they occur. This underpins our analysis of long term aquifer conditions. Water level forecasts are completed for all of our drought-vulnerable groundwater sources. Forecasts are derived using the Groundwater Level Forecasting (GWLF) tool and predict groundwater levels in the short to medium term. Forecast levels are then assessed against the drought alert curves that have been developed for that specific source and identify if that source will be at risk of a loss of deployable output under the forecast conditions.

76 68 Part Three Drought Forecasting The GWLF tool is run by projecting historical regional groundwater level data, as measured at the Environment Agency observation boreholes, from previous summer (May to October) and winter (November to April) periods forward in time from the current observed water level. The model can be used to test different rainfall scenarios to forecast water levels up to 18 months in advance as illustrated in Figure 24. Figure 24 GWLF forecast of groundwater levels in the Central Lincolnshire Limestone Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk

77 Part Three Drought Measures to Manage Supply and Demand

78 70 Part Three Drought Measures to Manage Supply and Demand 6 Drought Measures to Manage Supply and Demand The following sections of our drought plan outline the measures that we will take to maintain supplies during periods of drought. Section 6.2 outlines all of our demand-side management options that we may impose during a drought including the new powers to restrict domestic hosepipe use. Section 6.3 outlines the supply-side management options that we have developed for all of our sources. Section 6.4 describes the drought permits and orders that we may require. 6.1 Overview As with our water resources management planning, we will follow a twin-track approach to managing our supplies during a drought. In the first instance we will seek to manage the demands on the water, before we instigate any of the available supply-side measures. The timetable for the introduction of management actions is reactive to both the intensity and the duration of a rainfall deficit. A short intense summer drought will require a different approach to a sequence of winters with below-average recharge to water resources in aquifers and pumped storage reservoirs. The prolonged drought was characterised by the impact on groundwater resources and base flow to rivers, notably during the summer of 1991; by contrast the exceptionally low rainfall in 2011 has placed greater initial stress on surface water storage. In Section 6.2 we detail the activities that we undertake to manage demand through enhanced customer communications, water efficiency, metering and leakage management. In addition to increasing our activity in these areas, as a drought intensifies we may look to implement restrictions on customer use through application of the new powers afforded to water companies under the Water Use (Temporary Bans) Order The supply-side drought management actions are then detailed in Section 6.3 for our surface water abstractions and vulnerable groundwater sources. A number of these actions may have potential environmental impacts and as such will require a drought permit or drought order as described in Section 6.4. We describe the difference between the two, and provide detail as to where we may seek these special measures. In Section 7 we provide further detail regarding the associated environmental assessments and monitoring requirements. The key changes that we have made since our last drought plan are: Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk Demand side the introduction of the Water Use (Temporary Bans) Order 2010 that enables us to restrict a larger range of activities using a hosepipe. Supply side we have increased the number of sources where we may seek a drought permit and have included details of the actions at our vulnerable groundwater sources.

79 71 Any supply or demand-side measures will be implemented as a result of timely and proportionate decisions taken by the Drought Management Team. Actions will aim to secure supplies during the drought period with minimal disruption to customers, the environment and other water users. 6.2 Demand Side Management Actions The following section outlines all of our demand-side management actions. These range from our ongoing commitment to Waterwise behaviour to increased activities as a drought progresses from publicity campaigns, through to more formal restrictions on demand and ultimately standpipes. Our commitment to promote water efficiency is a central objective in our 25-year Strategic Direction Statement (SDS) as published in The conservation of water through our promotion of water efficiency is a legal duty that we support as part of our day-to-day business. The figure below illustrates how the demand for water in our region grew steadily from the 1960s to Since privatisation in 1989 the number of properties that we supply has increased by over 20 percent but demand has stabilised. This is a result of better demand management initiatives, leakage control, household metering and a decline in water used in industry. Anglian Water Services Water Supplied (Ml/d) 1963 onwards Quantity into Supply (Ml/d) Year Unmanaged Managed Controlled? Year Figure 25 Water supplied 1963 to 2012 The central themes of our demand management strategy are: Water Supplied (Ml/d) Encouraging customers to move to a measured water supply. We aim to have 95% of homes fitted with a meter by Continuing to operate at the lowest level of leakage in the industry. We are currently 10 per cent below our Ofwat target leakage levels and continue to invest in new detection

80 72 Part Three Drought Measures to Manage Supply and Demand technology, including our effective new Integrated Leakage and Pressure Management System. Leakage levels today are 30 per cent lower than they were 20 years ago. We are aiming for a leakage level no greater than 172 Ml/d by 2020, which is 18% lower than our Ofwat target. Encouraging Waterwise behaviour by all of our customers through education, information, practical assistance, and where appropriate, site specific advice. During periods of potential drought and drought there are a number of demand-side options that can be introduced. These are: Publicity campaign to use water wisely. Encourage meter optants. Leakage reduction. Temporary water use ban (LoS 1). Drought Order ban to restrict non-essential use (LoS 2). Rota cuts/use of standpipes (LoS 3). The potential savings for each demand measure are considered further in Appendix 2, which also includes as assessment of the potential savings that would be realised in each Resource Zone. The tables presented in Appendix 2 are in accordance with the Environment Agency guidelines. These are discussed in the following Sections Publicity Campaigns The promotion of water efficiency is a legal duty under the Water Industry Act 1991, the Environment Act 1995 and the Water Act A consistently high level of water efficiency-related communications is maintained with our customers. This is achieved via a continuous programme of direct and indirect communications encouraging domestic, commercial and industrial customers to be Waterwise. Details of the promotion of water efficiency measures that we undertake in our normal business contact with customers are provided in Appendix 9. In addition to customer mailings as part of their billing literature, we promote water efficiency via a number of other well-established activities as detailed in Table 11. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk Initiative Water efficiency measures (WEMS) Information to businesses Detail A proactive policy promoting water saving in the home, which is closely associated with our enhanced metering programme. 87,500 household water efficiency audits are planned in AMP5. Water saving advice will be provided with the option for customers to request retro-fit of water-saving devices. Our objective is to reduce household demand by a nominal 10% in targeted areas by We routinely offer water efficiency audits to identity water-saving opportunities for industrial customers. We also work collaboratively with a company called WRAP to provide a free water efficiency support package to small to medium businesses, promoted via our website and targeted customer s.

81 73 Initiative Other water efficiency services Tariffs Community activity Internet Internal communications Detail We provide dedicated account management to any business using large volumes of water or generating sizeable volumes of trade effluent. This provides services such as process advice, leakage find and fix, smart metering, water pressure management, water recycling and engagement campaigns to promote behavioural change for our customers customers or employees. Industrial tariffs provide incentives for customers to save water. Smart meters allow access to near real-time water consumption data. Initiatives are continually ongoing, promotion of Waterwise messages, advice and products at regional, county and environmental shows/events. Water efficiency sessions are carried out by our education team for children and adults in our classrooms and mobile education centre. We also work with local groups on individual projects to explore effective means of promoting the concept of water efficiency with our customers. is a powerful communications channel allowing promotion of Waterwise message to be accessed by a large audience. The current water resource situation is updated weekly and published on our internal website. A situation report is published each month which informs performance monitoring to our Management board. This will be used to identify the onset of potential drought conditions and the need for the Drought Team Management to convene. Table 11 Water efficiency activities During potential drought conditions we would increase the level of communication and awareness to the potential drought well in advance of any actual drought having an impact on water supplies. We would maintain our activities undertaken under normal conditions, but focus additional effort to increase awareness of these activities. We would seek to maximise coverage of our waterwise activities and increase communication of proactive messages encouraging features, regular resource updates and radio phone-ins. With the onset of drought conditions we would maintain a flexible approach for effective communication with customers and the community at large. The Drought Management Team will be responsible for developing an appropriate drought communication package in line with our Communication Strategy as outlined in Appendix 9. This would be properly integrated with our ongoing communications strategy and would be reactive to the severity of the drought, as measured by its intensity and duration and its spatial impact. Links will be developed with the Environment Agency and other bodies as appropriate. We would review the need to set up Regional or National drought groups with neighbouring companies and/or Water UK, to enable us to continue with the excellent collaborative approaches that were adopted during the drought, and also ensure clarity of messages to our customers and the media. The effectiveness of liaison in previous droughts has been measured by the adoption of timely measures and responses in order to maintain the security of public water supplies.

82 74 Part Three Drought Measures to Manage Supply and Demand The assumed demand savings resulting from direct publicity campaigns is 3-10 per cent dependent on the time of year Meter Optants As part of our commitment to water efficiency we continue to promote the household metering programme based on providing meters on request. This is accompanied by a water meter leaflet that provides water efficiency information with additional information available on request. It has been shown that measured supplies provide the incentive of more efficient use of water and also serves to reduce customers supply pipe leakage by highlighting high levels of consumption. Our aim is to have 95 per cent of homes fitted with a meter by We have an enhanced metering programme that involves proactive meter installations in targeted areas of our water supply that have been identified as being in serious or moderate water stress. Once the meter is fitted the customer has the option to be charged on a measured basis. After any change of occupancy the meter will automatically become effective. By 2015 we aim to install approximately 184,000 meters in targeted areas. During periods of potential drought and drought we would look to target delivery of this programme to implement meter installations in areas that are most at risk of impacts of the drought. During the drought we focused efforts on those areas that were identified by the Environment Agency as being under the greatest drought stress as shown in the Figure 26. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk

83 75 Figure 26 Potential target zones for accelerating enhanced metering and water efficiency measures (based on the Environment Agency's assessment of areas drought risk in June 2011) Leakage Managing water resources efficiently is a key business goal for Anglian Water. During we reached our lowest ever (and industry leading) rate of leakage which, at 4.97 cubic metres per kilometre of main per day (m3/km/d), continues to be almost half the industry average of 8.87 m3/km/d. We have achieved this through significant recent investment, notably in our innovative new Integrated Leakage and Pressure Management System that allows us to detect leaks quicker and to improve our response times. We also provide specialist advice service on leakage control to commercial and industrial customers where requested. Given our status as an area of serious water stress, leakage control remains a critical element of our supply-demand strategy. In AMP5, we continue to maintain our leakage at or significantly below target levels. Our target level of leakage is determined using a cost-benefit

84 76 Part Three Drought Measures to Manage Supply and Demand approach based on the sustainable economic level of leakage (SELL). This approach is in line with Ofwat best-practice guidance and ensures that the social, environmental and carbon costs associated with leakage management are fully accounted for. The SELL target is calculated as follows: Base activity SELL: The level of leakage which is effective in minimising the combined cost of producing water which is lost from our system and leakage control. Leakage control above this base activity SELL will cost us more than the value of the water which is saved and therefore is not cost-beneficial. This is calculated and included as our baseline in the WRMP. Assessment of the social, environmental and carbon costs (external costs) associated with leakage to determine the short-term SELL. Additional activity SELL: This is calculated as part of the process for restoring the supply demand balance in planning zones that go into deficit in the WRMP. In these zones, the cost and benefits of additional leakage control are assessed against the costs and benefits of other options for restoring the supply demand balance. Where additional leakage is more cost-beneficial it is selected. In calculating SELL costs we consider private and internal costs and the external social and environmental costs. This is in accordance with Ofwat guidance. We recognise that credible leakage performance influences customers belief in times of drought. During the drought and during the winter of , substantial additional resources were invested into leakage detection and the repair programme. During we invested 17 million on proactive leakage control and 18 million on reactive repair work, and deployed on average 128 leakage technicians throughout the year. The additional investment between 2011 and 2013 has enabled us to achieve the lowest levels of leakage in the industry. Our leakage level in was 189 Ml/d, our best ever leakage performance and 10% lower than our Ofwat target of 211 Ml/d. This policy contributed to our success in promoting the water conservation message. Therefore in periods of potential drought and drought we will continue to intensify our leakage efforts, increasing gangs in the field, reducing find and fix times and prioritising workloads whilst continuing the main activities in our leakage programme. The amount of water that we lose through leakage is 30 per cent less now than it was 20 years ago. However, through the consultation process for our PR14 Business Plan our customers made it clear that leaks remain a particular concern. In response, we have set ourselves our toughest ever target on leakage, aiming for no more than172 Ml/d by The Drought Management Team will co-ordinate a leakage response programme to ensure that in drought periods when we are trying to conserve water supplies that we invest proportionately in conserving our own supplies Temporary Water Use (Hosepipe) Bans (Level of Service 1) Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk This section details the demand restrictions that we may impose on domestic customers via a hosepipe ban under the new Water Use (Temporary Bans) Order 2010 and how we would propose to implement them in the event of a drought.

85 77 The original hosepipe use restriction under Section 76 of the Water Industry Act (WIA) 1991 applied only to the watering of private gardens and the washing of private motor cars. Other activities such as filling a paddling pool or cleaning windows using a hosepipe were still permitted. Following the imposition of hosepipe bans by some water companies during the drought it was recognised that the existing legislation did not provide water companies or their customers with suitable transparency on restricting activities that involved the use of hosepipes. Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government undertook a comprehensive review of these powers and in October 2010 approved amendments to Section 36 of the Flood and Water Management Act The new legislation on temporary use restrictions now extends the activities that may be prohibited and allows us to take proportionate action to protect public water supplies. These new powers may allow us to delay or avoid the need for a drought permit or order under the Water Resources Act 1991 and will ensure a balance is struck between the needs to conserve water for essential domestic purposes, whilst ensuring that any potential environmental impacts are minimised. The new powers The Water Use (Temporary Bans) Order 2010 has modernised and widened the scope of the hosepipe ban powers to enable water companies to potentially realise more water savings without the need to apply for drought orders. The activities that can be restricted under these new powers will primarily affect domestic customers only. In accordance with the Water Use (Temporary Bans) Order 2010 the activities that may be restricted are as follows: Watering a garden using a hosepipe. Watering plants on domestic or other non-commercial premises using a hosepipe. Cleaning a private motor-vehicle using a hosepipe. Cleaning a private leisure boat using a hosepipe. Filling or maintaining a domestic swimming pool or paddling pool. Drawing water using a hosepipe for domestic recreational use. Filling or maintaining a domestic pond using a hosepipe. Filling or maintaining an ornamental fountain. Cleaning walls or windows of domestic premises using a hosepipe Cleaning paths or patios using a hosepipe Cleaning other artificial outdoor surfaces using a hosepipe. Most of the uses of water that may be prohibited under these powers only apply to the use of water drawn through a hosepipe or similar apparatus (by definition this would include sprinklers and pressure washers). The exception to this is filling or maintaining a domestic swimming pool or paddling pool and filling or maintaining an ornamental fountain, in which the use of water which may be prohibited extends to all means of filling (except for handheld containers), including fixed or permanent plumbing. The new powers do not: Restrict commercial, agricultural or horticultural use. Include any activities that are necessary for health and safety reasons (i.e. necessary to remove or minimise any risk to human or animal health/safety or prevents/control the spread of causative agents of disease).

86 78 Part Three Drought Measures to Manage Supply and Demand Before imposing any temporary restriction we must be confident that a serious deficiency of water for distribution exists or is under threat. Hosepipes and sprinklers use large amounts of water and are often left unattended, so a restriction would be effective in conserving water for public water supplies. The temporary ban would restrict use of domestic hosepipes and sprinklers; however, these powers do not restrict any of the above activities being undertaken using: A bucket or watering can filled by hand. Grey water use (bath/wash water). Rainwater collected in a water butt. Implementation of the new powers Our interpretation is in accordance with the guidance presented in the UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) Code of Practice, as updated in 2013 to incorporate lessons from the drought. Under the new powers water companies have the flexibility to prioritise and sequence different categories of restrictions. This could mean the restriction of different activities at different times and in different areas, which in turn would involve protracted and complicated consultation with our customers in order to consider comments and requests for exemptions. Effective management of this approach would be challenging. If a multi-phased approach were adopted we would need to be confident that we could ensure an effective consultation process and implement any phasing of restrictions without bias or prejudice to any specific groups. We also feel that a phased approach to customer restrictions could lead to confusion and the risk that the message is diluted such that potential water savings are reduced. As a result, we believe a single phased temporary restriction of all hosepipe activities as detailed in the Water Use (Temporary Bans) Act 2010 would provide the most unbiased and effective approach for all of our customers. We are confident that a single restriction would be best placed to meet challenges faced in our region and provide a fair and reasonable way to ask all customers to conserve water supplies during a period of drought. If the situation deteriorates further and requires us to consider the application for drought orders, this early restriction on all hosepipe usage would demonstrate that we as a water company had taken all necessary steps to conserve water supplies and protect the environment in a timely and effective manner. Any temporary restriction would be preceded by a rigorous publicity campaign that would proactively engage with our customers about the deteriorating situation and the need to conserve water. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk We would allow an appropriate consultation period in which any representations could be made via our website, contacting a customer services representative or writing directly to us. Following the consultation period we would formally publish a statement of response outlining our consideration to any representations received. Restrictions would be imposed for the minimum period required and would be lifted with immediate effect once the situation had stabilised.

87 79 Concessions and exceptions As a water undertaker we plan on the basis that on occasion, we may have to impose restrictions during long periods of very dry weather or drought. No compensation will be awarded in the event of a temporary restriction on water usage. The full list of statutory exceptions is included in Appendix 10. In addition to these, Anglian Water grant the following Discretionary Exceptions without the need to make representation or obtain permission: Those with severe mobility problems or who hold a Blue Badge as issued by their Local Authority; Use of drip or trickle watering system, fitted with a pressure reducing valve and a timer, that are not handheld and which place water by drip directly onto the soil surface or beneath the soil surface, without the surface run-off or dispersion of water through the air using a jet or mist. We will consider exceptions for businesses whose commercial activity would be affected by the imposition of restrictions, although the exception may be withdrawn if the water resources situation were to deteriorate further or non-essential use restrictions were imposed. Businesses that we may consider are those users of water engaged in cleaning of private motor-vehicles using a hosepipe and cleaning of walls, or windows of domestic premises using a hosepipe as a service to customers. In order to provide transparency, any other exceptions would need to be managed and approved via the representation process. All applications for exceptions must be made within the prescribed consultation period and a formal response will be published to identify exceptions that have been approved. Full details of the process for customer representation and how we will consider and respond are provided in Appendix 10. Monitoring and review of temporary restrictions A post-implementation review of the impacts and demand savings of these provisions will be completed after a drought period. The review will identify predicted and actual water savings achieved through these powers. Analysis of representations and evidence of impacts received throughout the onset of a drought will support future restrictions and give customers confidence that their interests are being considered and that effective measures will be taken to minimise the impact on water supplies and on the environment during future droughts in our region. We currently assume a demand saving of 3 to 10 per cent as a result of the temporary use restrictions and associated activities as detailed in Appendix 2. The review of savings following the restrictions that were imposed in 2012 proved a demand saving of 6 per cent.

88 80 Part Three Drought Measures to Manage Supply and Demand Non-Essential Use Ban Restrictions (Levels of Service 2) This section details the demand restrictions that we may impose on non-domestic customers and how these would be implemented during more severe drought conditions. Drought orders can be sought by a water company to restrict the use of water in the form of a restriction of non-essential use. In addition to domestic customers, these restrictions will also affect commercial customers and businesses. Restrictions on non-essential use are included in our reservoir control curves at a frequency of not more that 1 year in 40. The application of drought orders to restrict the use of water in areas supplied by groundwater sources is determined in response to local conditions of supplies and demands. Drought orders to restrict non-essential use must be granted by the Secretary of State. The Drought Direction 2011 outlines the activities that would be restricted under normal drought order as follows: Watering outdoor plants on commercial premises. Filling or maintaining a non-domestic swimming or paddling pool. Filling or maintaining a pond. Operating a mechanical vehicle washer. Cleaning any vehicle, boat, aircraft or railway rolling stock. Cleaning non-domestic premises. Cleaning a window of a non-domestic premises. Cleaning industrial plant. Suppressing dust. We would consult widely before any of these restrictions were imposed and we would only apply for specific restrictions where we were confident that we would realise appropriate demand savings. With the exception of those with severe mobility problems (Blue Badge holders) we would not propose the permission of any other exemptions or concessions unless on the grounds of health and safety in line with Section The process of representation would also be consistent with that discussed in Section The estimated demand savings for non-essential use restrictions range from 14 to 20 per cent as detailed in Appendix Emergency Drought Order (Level of Service 3) This section details the most severe customer restrictions that we could impose in a drought. These would only ever be considered in the event that water supplies were severely depleted due to an exceptional shortage of rain. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk Under the scope for emergency drought orders we may apply to the Secretary of State to limit or prohibit the use of water for any purpose we consider appropriate or the introduction of standpipes and rota cuts to conserve water supplies. The application and enactment of standpipes and rota cuts would result only if the drought was of sufficient intensity and

89 81 duration to exceed the worst recorded conditions. These are currently included in our reservoir control curves at a frequency of not more than one year in 100, and form the basis of the level of service 3 trigger curve. This would only be implemented in the most extreme of circumstances and only where it would be necessary to impose the use of standpipes as a result of drought conditions. Where customers experience interruptions to supply as a result of an emergency drought order we would award compensation, in accordance with Condition Q in our Instrument of Appointment. Appendix 2 estimates demand savings that would result from the use of standpipes and rota cuts as ranging from 34 to 52 per cent. Consultation and discussion at national and regional level during the drought highlighted that it is no longer acceptable to include a planned level of service that may result in the imposition of standpipes or rota cuts for our customers. In response to this we consulted further though our water resources management plan, and have agreed to start work in 2015 on the detailed design, planning and further consultation for a new raw water transfer from the River Trent to enhance the levels of service in our Ruthamford supply system Other Demand Management Options During periods of drought we may consider the suspension of our planned maintenance programmes including mains flushing. Some level of flushing is required to maintain water quality and to ensure health and safety is not jeopardised; however, we would undertake a review to understand if there was potential to minimise this to conserve water supplies. In the event of a drought, we would also minimise the test pumping of boreholes, minimise treatment losses and review blend options. During the drought we also identified 'extreme pressure management' as a potential option, although this is still under review. 6.3 Supply Side Management Actions The following section outlines our supply-side management actions. These are described in the following categories: Reservoirs. Direct river intakes. Drought-vulnerable groundwater sources. Supply-side management actions are the measures that we may employ to increase supply during a drought, over and above the activities we ordinarily undertake. As detailed in Section 2.5, our policy on water supply since privatisation has been to invest in supply-side schemes to ensure security of supplies against drought (based on an 80-year return period) and to minimise potential environmental impacts resulting from our abstractions. Many of these schemes have been developed and tested during the severe droughts experienced in the 1990s and 2000s and have included: Integration and extension of supply networks; in particular extension of the Ruthamford system eastwards and northwards. Securing groundwater source outputs by the development of satellite boreholes.

90 82 Part Three Drought Measures to Manage Supply and Demand Backup for the more vulnerable direct river abstractions through developing new groundwater sources. Aggregation of abstraction licences to maintain security and increase operational flexibility of supplies. Increasing our capacity for conjunctive use of surface and groundwater resources to reduce the impact of drought and climate change. Modification of abstractions and provision of works to reduce environmental impact through implementation of the National Environment Programme. Supply-side drought management options have been outlined for each of our RZs in Appendix 3. The associated tables provide details on the option implementation assessment, triggers, implementation timeframe, permissions and yield saving in each zone. The tables are presented in accordance with the structure as specified in the Environment Agency guidelines. The details of the environmental assessments for the supply-side measures potentially requiring a drought permit are considered further in Section 7 and the tables are presented in Appendix 7. Generic supply-side options include: Maximising outputs from all sources in the RZ: many RZs have both surface water and groundwater sources that can be managed conjunctively. During a drought we would look to optimise use of sources to meet demand and look for options to transfer between adjacent RZs. The Environment Agency has recently produced a Technical Briefing to explain how the Water Framework Directive objective of no deterioration to water bodies applies to public water supply abstractions. We are working with the Environment Agency to understand the implications in relation to our planned capital investments. Engineering work: we would look to develop or fast-track any supply demand schemes available to improve infrastructure and connectivity to secure supplies, both within inter and intra RZ. Pressure reduction: identify opportunities of reducing pressure within RZs to conserve supplies. Additional output/commissioning of sources: develop potential schemes to improve output of existing assets, or create new sources. Bulk Imports: identify potential for short-term bulk supply imports from neighbouring companies where possible. The following sections consider these options in more detail Drought Management Actions for Reservoirs Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk Details of our main reservoirs are provided in Section 4.1. If, at any time of the year, storage levels fall below the normal operating curve then storage and supply are insecure (as measured against modelled 80-year storage values), as the reservoir could ultimately empty should dry conditions prevail. Opportunities to raise storage during normal or potential drought conditions could include river augmentation (to increase the water available for pumped reservoir refill), treated water rezoning (to off-set demand to alternative sources) and increased public awareness. Specific additional actions that may be taken when storage falls during a drought are detailed in Table 12.

91 83 Reservoir Alton Water Drought Management Action Transfer of water from the abstraction point on the MillRiver 50% reduction to the minimum residual flow condition at the abstraction point on the River Gipping (permit) Ardleigh River augmentation scheme Increase augmentation volumes by 50% (permit) Utilise Ely-Ouse Essex Transfer scheme via Toppesfield Brook Transfer from Essex & Suffolk Water Covenham Grafham Water Rutland Water Section 20 agreement to utilise Great Eau transfer 50% reduction to the minimum residual flow condition at the abstraction point on the River Great Ouse (permit) 50% reduction to the minimum residual flow condition at the abstraction point on the River Nene (permit) Reduce the volume of water discharged from the reservoir for the Gwash-Glen transfer (order) Pitsford 50% reduction to the minimum residual flow condition at the abstraction point on the River Nene (permit) Table 12 Reservoir drought management measures For reservoirs in Ruthamford, which is partly integrated, we would optimise the balance of storage and minimise the severity of drought impacts on any one reservoir. This would be achieved by maximising the conjunctive use of all sources in this RZ. During the drought, we identified the option to accelerate investment to re-commission one of our Lower Greensand groundwater sources and our Foxcote reservoir. Both of these have been subjected to an environmental assessment to ensure compliance with the Water Framework Directive, and as a result only the groundwater option was progressed. We have entered into a Section 20 water resources management agreement with the Environment Agency for our operation of the transfer scheme to support abstraction for Covenham via the Great Eau. We also have the Rutland Water Agreement with the Environment Agency to ensure that we discharge sufficient water from the reservoir to support flows in the River Gwash to allow subsequent transfer to the River Glen (as operated by the Environment Agency). This is to compensate for our Lincolnshire Limestone groundwater abstractions; however, recent assessments have indicated that the current minimum residual flow conditions may be too high and the Environment Agency is reviewing options to reduce the volumes. In the meantime, any changes to the transfer licence would require a drought order as it is owned by the Environment Agency. The potential also exists to utilise the Ely-Ouse to Essex transfer scheme (EOETS), which is operated by the Environment Agency. This transfers water that would have flowed out to the Wash to augment the yield of the reservoirs operated by Essex and Suffolk Water. Ardleigh Reservoir can also be supported by a direct discharge from the transfer pipeline to

92 84 Part Three Drought Measures to Manage Supply and Demand Abberton Reservoir, owned by Essex & Suffolk Water, which carries water from the EOETS. Discussions with Essex and Suffolk Water are progressing to identify opportunities to use this transfer to support Ardleigh Reservoir, if required as a contingency under exceptional circumstances. Further detail of the reservoir supply-side drought measures that would require applications for drought permits are provided in Section 6.4. In our previous drought plan we included the supply-side option to seek a drought permit to augment flows in the Mill River. We have re-assessed the available flows in the MillRiver and no longer consider this action to be necessary Drought Management Actions for Direct Intakes Details of our direct supply river intakes are provided in Section 4.2. The resilience of our direct supply river intakes to drought has been developed through historical investment in strategic link mains, the provision of bankside storage or local conjunctive use with reservoir or groundwater sources. Table 13 provides a summary of how we would maintain supplies to areas supplied by these direct abstraction sources. Full details are provided in Appendix 5. Direct intake Ancholme Great Ouse (Bedford) Wensum (Norwich) Drought management action Surface water from the River Ancholme is pumped to bankside storage. Flows in the Ancholme are supported by the Environment Agency-operated Trent-Witham-Ancholme transfer scheme. Bankside storage provides 10 days storage and would be resilient to periods of low flows as experienced in 1976 or Low flows do not generally occur at this abstraction point owing to the extent of effluent returns in the upstream catchment; therefore abstraction is unlikely to be affected during drought. Should levels threaten abstraction supplies would switch to Grafham Water. The planned sequence of operation during drought involves relocation of abstraction to the downstream intake, followed by the introduction of groundwater support as follows: Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk Nar Step 1: switch to downstream intake, triggered when measured flow at Costessey Mill naturalised for our abstractions is less than (Costessey Mill MRF + min pump capacity + maximum demands). Step 2: Use of other Norwich groundwater sources to augment surface water triggered when measured flow at Costessey Mill is less than (intake minimum pump capacity + maximum demand). Increase the annual abstraction quantity from the Costessey boreholes (permit subject to ongoing investigation). The planned support for the River Nar during drought would be the introduction of localised groundwater sources.

93 85 Direct intake Wissey Bath Spring, Saltersford and Cringle Brook Drought management action The planned sequence of operation during drought involves the transfer of water from the Cut-Off channel for release as compensation to the River Wissey and the augmentation of supply from local groundwater sources. Temporary increase to groundwater source abstraction licence (permit). During normal operation these intakes are supported via the raw water transfer from Rutland Water. No current plans to reinstate intakes. Table 13 Direct river abstraction drought management measures We have assessed the drought management sequences for the intakes on the Wensum, Nar and Wissey as presented in Appendix 5. These assessments have proven that there are occasions during a drought when we would not be able to rely on these intakes under the existing abstraction licence constraints. We have, therefore included a supply-side measure for each of these that would require an application for a drought permit. During the drought we identified an investment need to improve the capacity of the Cut-Off Channel intake if required during extreme drought events. The work is due to complete by Further detail of the river intake supply-side drought measures that would require applications for drought permits are provided in Section Drought Management Actions for Groundwater Sources Details of our drought vulnerable groundwater sources and how we monitor the onset of a groundwater drought are provided in Section 4.3. The drought alert curve methodology provides a clear indication 6 to 18 months in advance of the potential onset of drought conditions at our drought vulnerable groundwater sources. The crossing of individual drought alert curves at respective observation boreholes is a trigger for mitigation actions at each source. As a response to the onset of low groundwater levels the following measures will be taken: Monthly manual dips of all drought vulnerable boreholes. The GWLF tool run for drought vulnerable groundwater sources. Review of UKWIR summary diagrams for drought vulnerable sources. Manage borehole operation effectively, complete test pumping where required and reduce source output as necessary to minimise risk to supply. Anglian Water operational staff to check the status of other water sources within the supply system and maximise conjunctive use to alleviate pressure on the drought-vulnerable source. Re-zoning from more secure sources to be completed to ensure that supplies from groundwater are maximised in order to augment supplies from areas likely to be affected. Assign drought mitigation schemes as required; these could include fast-tracking existing borehole maintenance or replacement schemes or new schemes. Drought measures for each drought vulnerable groundwater source are detailed in Table 14.

94 86 Part Three Drought Measures to Manage Supply and Demand Groundwater source West Bradenham Winterton Holmes Didlington Metton Marham Southfields Action New source drilled and commissioned in 2012 to provide additional standby and reduce risk during drought. New source drilled in 2012 and to be commissioned to provide additional standby and reduce risk during drought. New source drilled and commissioned in 2012 to provide additional standby and reduce risk during drought. Satellite source drilled and commissioned in 2008 to provide additional standby and reduce risk during drought. Source only at risk during exceptional demand or following failure at river intake. Wellington Wellfield provides emergency standby. New source drilled and commissioned in 2008 to provide additional standby and reduce risk during drought. Import from Cambridge Water available. Winterton Carrs No.1 WanehamBridge (Dunston) Ashley Road Belstead Congham Rezone from adjacent source. Rezone from adjacent sources within supply zone. New source drilled and commissioned in 2008 to provide additional standby and reduce risk during drought. Import from Cambridge Water available. Rezone from adjacent sources within supply zone. Additional boreholes have been drilled to support output at this source. Rezone from adjacent sources within supply zone. Eriswell 1 Gayton Goxhill 2 Long Hill Rezone from adjacent sources within supply zone. Rezone from adjacent sources within supply zone. Rezone from adjacent sources within supply zone. Options for a new satellite borehole to be assessed. New source drilled and commissioned in 2008 to provide additional standby and reduce risk during drought. Import from Cambridge Water available. Lower Links New source drilled and commissioned in 2008 to provide additional standby and reduce risk during drought. Import from Cambridge Water available. Welton Westerfield Whitton Rezone from adjacent sources within supply zone. Rezone from adjacent sources within supply zone. Rezone from adjacent sources within supply zone. The delivery of a new source and sourceworks has been planned for Table 14 Drought vulnerable groundwater sources Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk

95 Drought Permits and Drought Orders This section details the actions that we would seek to undertake to secure additional supplies that could result in an impact to the environment or other users and would therefore require an application to the Environment Agency or Secretary of State for a drought permit or order. The Water Resources Act 1991 as amended by the Environment Act 1995 and the Water Act 2003 allows for three legislative ways for dealing with drought situations: drought permits drought orders - ordinary drought orders - emergency Drought orders and permits can be sought by a water company to secure additional water resources or to restrict the use of water. These would only be considered under periods of exceptional shortages of rainfall which result in serious deficiencies in our water supplies. These are all drought management actions that if granted can allow greater flexibility to manage water resources and minimise the effects of a drought on public water supply and the environment. There are a number of key differences between drought permits and drought orders that have been summarised in Table 15 (8). Drought permit Ordinary drought order Emergency drought order Legislation WRA 1991 Section 79a WRA 1991 Section 74 WRA 1991 Section 75 Applicant Water company Water company or Environment Agency Water company or Environment Agency Authorised by: Environment Agency Secretary of State Secretary of State Powers To modify or suspend conditions on an abstraction in order to increase water supply during a drought Can increase both supply and restrict non-essential use of water. This is over and above temporary restriction powers to restrict domestic hosepipe use as described in Section To set up and supply by means of standpipes or water tanks Duration Up to 6 months Up to 6 months Up to 3 months Extensions For a further 6 months For a further 6 months For a further 2 months 8 Based on the summary included in the 'Drought permits and drought orders' Defra document, May 2011

96 88 Part Three Drought Measures to Manage Supply and Demand Drought permit Ordinary drought order Emergency drought order Period for powers to be granted Normally within 12 days from date of application Normally made within 28 calendar days from date of application Normally made within 28 days from date of application Table 15 Summary of drought permit / ordinary and emergency drought orders Before we apply for a drought permit or drought order we will have taken the necessary measures to conserve supplies and reduce demand on the affected sources, as detailed in Section 6.2. In particular we would have increased engagement with our customers through publicity campaigns, imposed temporary restriction on domestic hosepipe use, increased leakage control and pressure reduction. Drought Permits - Supply Side In accordance with the Water Act 2003, we have identified all possible drought permits that we would seek to secure additional supplies during a drought. Table 16 provides a summary of the proposed drought permits we would apply for. Source Alton Water Ardleigh River Wensum intake Grafham Water Pitsford Rutland Water River Wissey intake Drought permit application 50% MRF reduction at intake on River Gipping Increase the groundwater abstraction licence for the augmentation boreholes Increase the annual abstraction quantity for the Norwich boreholes and other boreholes. Subject to ongoing investigations. 50% MRF reduction at intake on River Great Ouse 50% MRF reduction at intake on River Nene 50% MRF reduction at intake on River Nene Increased abstraction licence for the supporting groundwater source Maximum Potential Yield (Ml/d) Table 16 Summary of potential drought permits with associated maximum potential yield Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk We have improved and updated an assessment of the environmental impacts relating to each of the individual drought permits, and a summary of the assessments is presented in Appendix 7. We have produced an environmental monitoring plan which identifies the baseline monitoring that would be required to support a future application. We have completed these assessments in liaison with the Environment Agency and Natural England to ensure environmental impacts are fully identified and assessed. Further details can be found in Section 7.

97 89 We are carrying out additional work to support the environmental assessments for the River Wensum intake, and the summer drought permit options for Grafham Water and Rutland Water. We have given our commitment to the Environment Agency and Natural England that we will present the additional evidence required by December 2014 and that we will not make an application for a drought permit at these sites before the work is complete. If we are unable to conclude 'no adverse impact' on the River Wensum Special Area of Conservation, we will remove the groundwater option from the drought plan and will set out details of alternative options to be further assessed. Elements of this options identification process have already been undertaken as part of the project to identify feasible solutions to address the River Wensum sustainability reduction scheme in the WRMP An environmental report will be submitted for each drought permit application to assess the expected environmental effects of the proposal. The environmental report will include information on environmental assessments, details from the environmental monitoring plan and mitigation actions. For any applications that may affect Habitats Directive Sites, Special Areas of Conservation or Special Protection Areas, Ramsar sites and Sites of Special Scientific interest we have assessed the likely significant effects or damage to features within these sites. Drought permits must be approved by the Environment Agency. A drought permit will only be granted when it is satisfied with appropriate evidence that there is a serious deficiency of supplies of water in a given area and that the reason for this deficiency is an exceptional shortage of rain. Winter drought permits Winter drought permit application can be made to increase winter abstractions in order to: Reduce the risks of drought permits or orders the following summer. Assist recovery of water supply resources that have been depleted as a result of drought. Assist the maintenance of water supply in drought affected areas. Any winter drought permit application must satisfy the criteria for drought permits and must be applicable to circumstances where a threat to public supplies is significantly greater than the normal risk to supplies for the time of year. In these cases, we would still take appropriate mitigation measures to protect the impact on the environment and other abstractors. Anglian Water agrees with the Environment Agency s policy that temporary use restrictions would ordinarily be introduced prior to the application of a drought permit. However under certain circumstances (such as those experienced during the drought of ) there may be compelling reasons supporting the need for an earlier drought permit application. Under these circumstances we would work closely with the Environment Agency to ensure that our communication strategy with our customers is sufficient. Drought Orders supply side The environmental assessments completed for each of the sources listed in Table 17 have highlighted some cases where the environmental impacts of the proposed drought measure may be more significant during the summer. In these instances the Environment Agency may advise that it would be necessary to apply to the Secretary of State for a drought order.

98 90 Part Three Drought Measures to Manage Supply and Demand In addition to the supply-side management options that relate to Anglian Water sources, we have identified options that could be considered in a more severe drought that would require changes to Environment Agency abstraction licences and therefore an application for a drought order. These are detailed in Table 17. Scheme Ely-Ouse to Essex transfer scheme Trent-Witham-Ancholme transfer scheme Gwash-Glen transfer scheme RZ South Essex Central Lincolnshire Ruthamford North Measure Increase transfer licence from the River Great Ouse Increase transfer licence from the River Trent Reduce MRF at Belmesthorpe on the River Gwash Table 17 Potential drought orders We have not undertaken environmental assessments for any of these schemes and would expect to discuss each of them with the Environment Agency to determine the requirements for an environmental assessment in advance of a drought order application. The Environment Agency includes reference to the option for a drought order application to change the Trent-Witham-Ancholme transfer scheme in its Anglian Drought Plan 2011 and states the expectation that we would provide significant input to the process. We have not included these explicitly in the supply-side management tables presented in Appendix 3. Application Process Any drought permit or order application would be completed in accordance with the procedure as contained in Schedule 8 of the WRA This would ensure that: The broad proposal and justification of need is clearly outlined. Notice served to all key stakeholders. Notices are published correctly ensuring public inspection of notices is available. The content of the Application is compliant with relevant legislation and Environment Agency guidance. Any objections are dealt with appropriately. Publication of the approved notice is made correctly. Timescales to process drought permit and order applications will vary and be dependent on the urgency of the situation. The authorising body will normally determine an application within 12 or 28 days, respectively, where no objections have been received; however, the whole process could take 2 to 3 months and needs to managed in a timely manner. 6.5 Additional Supply Side Management Options Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk This section details the additional supply-side measures that are available to us and may be considered in a drought.

99 Management of Inter-Company Transfers We are a net exporter of water through the historical provision of statutory bulk supplies from Grafham Water to Affinity Water (Central) and from Rutland Water to Severn Trent Water. There is a small net import of water from Essex & Suffolk Water in the Braintree and Colchester areas. Agreement has been made with Cambridge Water to provide a supply from the Thetford to Cambridge main. We maintain liaison with all neighbouring water companies in the preparation of our drought plans and WRMPs. There are no other specific cases where additional water supplies could be provided between companies during a drought; however, companies would provide mutual assistance dependent upon the characteristics of the prevailing drought and their respective availability of water resources and treated water supplies. There are no bulk supplies between Hartlepool Water and Northumbrian Water and no existing provisions for emergency cross connections Alternative Options Our drought plan provides a framework for drought management against the worst historical droughts experienced in our region to date. However, in future we may need to evaluate those demand- and supply-side options that would be required should a worse drought occur. The following esoteric options may be considered to secure additional supplies; however, their cost, environmental impacts and technical complexity have not yet been assessed. Road tankering. Desalination of brackish water. Return of tidal effluent. Inter-catchment transfers. Bulk transfers from other water companies Tanker supplies to major ports. All of these options will be examined and progressed as part of our long-term water resource and drought planning. We started to review a number of alternative options further during the drought when we were concerned about the risk of a 3 rd dry winter and some of these options are continuing through a feasibility study. We have not included any further detail in this plan. We continue to follow the Environment Agency's guidelines for drought scenario testing based on historical droughts and use the existing hydrological record. In accordance with the water resources management guidelines, to date, our planning and investment is based on ensuring that we can maintain public water supplies during the worst drought that we have experienced since records began (typically 1920). To maintain public water supplies during a drought worse than we have previously experienced, whilst minimising any environmental impact, would require significant investment in innovative water resource solutions or increased storage to bank water during periods of high flow. We will await guidance on this matter from Government and will continue to consult our customers on their 'willingness to pay' for future drought resilience.

100 92 Part Three Drought Measures to Manage Supply and Demand Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk

101 Part Three Minimising the Impact of Drought on the Environment

102 94 Part Three Minimising the Impact of Drought on the Environment 7 Minimising the Impact of Drought on the Environment This section details all of the work that we have completed to minimise any environmental impacts from our drought management actions and the environmental monitoring that we undertake. An important part of the drought planning process is to ensure that the environmental impacts of any of the supply-side management actions that we propose are minimised. In accordance with the Environment Agency s guidelines, we have completed environmental assessments for each of the supply-side drought measures where we consider that there may be a requirement to apply for a drought permit or drought order. These assessments are used to determine the environmental sensitivity, the likely impact of the proposed action and any mitigation measures that may be required to protect the environment. They are also used to develop an environmental monitoring plan and to identify any additional information that we would require to support a future application. 7.1 Environmental Assessments We currently have seven sources where we have identified drought measures that would require an application for a drought permit to secure additional supplies in a drought. The sources and corresponding drought measure are listed in Table 18. Source Alton Water Ardleigh Reservoir River Wensum intake Grafham Water Pitsford Reservoir Rutland Water River Wissey intake Drought measure requiring a drought permit application 50% MRF reduction at intake on River Gipping Increase the groundwater abstraction licences for augmentation Increase the annual abstraction quantity for the boreholes (subject to ongoing assessment) 50% MRF reduction at intake on River Great Ouse 50% MRF reduction at intake on River Nene 50% MRF reduction at intake on River Nene Increase the abstraction licence for the supporting groundwater sources Table 18 Drought measures requiring a drought permit Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk A summary of the individual environmental assessments is provided in Appendix 7. Full environmental assessments have been completed for each source identified in Table 18 and are available upon request.

103 95 Further work is required to support the proposed drought measure for the River Wensum intake. This work is ongoing and we commit to updating the environmental assessment before any future application for a drought permit for the River Wensum. We are also carrying out further work to support any future application for a summer drought permit for Grafham Water and Rutland Water. The environmental assessments have been completed using a structured approach that fits the three stage process for the assessment of environmental risk as described in the Environment Agency s guidelines. The purpose of the environmental assessments is to complete a hydrological impact assessment and environmental sensitivity assessment based on information currently available. The assessments are then used to propose environmental mitigation measures. They provide a gap analysis that identifies additional information requirements which form the basis of the environmental monitoring plan for each of the sources and the proposed timetable for data collection (see Section 7.2). In accordance with the Environment Agency s guidelines, the assessment process includes the following stages: A. Assessment of environmental risk comprising: 1. An evaluation of the hydrological/hydrogeological effects that result from the drought permit 2. An assessment of the environmental risks and vulnerability that result from those effects 3. An evaluation of additional monitoring and investigation that may be required for each site to support a drought permit/order, along with the anticipated timing of data collection or investigations. B. Development of an environmental monitoring plan C. Identification of mitigation measures Stages A1 and A2 of the assessment form the core part of the environmental assessment. This part of the assessment includes the incorporation of the Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA) screening and evaluation of the risk to Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) as designated under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act. An overview of the methodology that has been followed to complete stages A1 and A2 of the assessment of environmental risk is illustrated in Figure 27.

104 96 Part Three Minimising the Impact of Drought on the Environment Figure 27 Overview of the approach for stages A1 and A2 of the assessment of environmental risk Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk The environmental assessments summarise the key components as outlined by the Environment Agency that would inform their decision to support a supply-side management measure application during a drought situation. The Environment Agency guidelines specify a prescribed format for the provision of information. The format is summarised in Table 19 and the completed tables for each assessment are presented in Appendix 7.

105 97 Element of environmental assessment Risk to the environment Summary of likely environmental impacts Baseline information used Summary of additional baseline monitoring requirements Mitigation measures Impact on other activities Summary Dependent on season and may differ between winter and summer. Includes impacts on flow and level, designated sites, on water quality, ecology and fisheries and navigation. Outlines data sources available. Identifies monitoring activities that should be carried out in potential and drought status. These include water quality monitoring, fish surveys, navigational surveys. Outlines actions that will mitigate against any of the environmental impacts stated above. And can include measures such as temporary reductions in abstraction to enhance flushing, planned preventative maintenance, cessation rules imposed as a result of water quality monitoring, additional treatment at waste water treatment works. Identifies other potential impacts such as upon fisheries and restricted right abstractors. Table 19 Summary of environmental assessment components In the event of a drought permit being required, these environmental assessments would form the basis for a comprehensive environmental report that would accompany a drought permit application. 7.2 Environmental Monitoring Plan The environmental monitoring plan considers the output of the environmental assessments completed for all the potential drought permit sites. The report provides a summary of the monitoring that is routinely gathered and makes recommendations if additional information is required to address any gaps identified. The environmental monitoring plan is presented in Appendix 8. For each of the potential drought permit sites, the data currently available has been categorised and an assessment of adequacy of the data has been completed. Recommendations for additional monitoring or assessment have been made for each site. Consideration has been given to the timing and availability of data during the lead into a drought. We will liaise with the Environment Agency to assess the conclusions of the environmental assessments and the monitoring plan, and agree the most appropriate course of action for any ongoing requirements.

106 98 Part Three Minimising the Impact of Drought on the Environment 7.3 Data Provision The Environment Agency routinely collects physio-chemical, ecological and hydrological data within the potentially affected reaches of all of the proposed drought permits sites. These routine data provides good coverage and enables long term trend analysis of any changes within the drought permit catchment. We have confirmed with the Environment Agency that monitoring at these sites will be continued for the foreseeable future. The environmental monitoring plan identifies additional areas of monitoring that would be required during the lead up to and the time during which a drought permit was applicable. During the use of any of the potential drought permits we would maintain close liaison with the Environment Agency to review the drought monitoring data. This would allow the early detection of any areas of concern and to agreement of appropriate actions. Appendix 8 outlines additional areas of monitoring which would be required at each drought permit site in the lead into and during a drought permit. It also identifies where applicable recommendations may be needed for monitoring/investigations that would inform risk prior to future drought permits. These include examination of existing hydraulic and water quality models to confirm assumptions are correct, fieldwork to support hydrogeological studies and analysis of navigational demands. 7.4 Habitats Directive and Countryside Right of Way Act The Environment Agency s guidelines states that we must ensure that our drought plan meets the requirements of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulation 2010 and must determine and undertake if necessary a Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) on the effects of our drought plan on European conservation sites, alone or in combination with other plans. Each of our environmental assessments that supports a proposed supply-side management measure has been subject to a HRA screening (stage one) to ascertain if the proposed permit would be likely to have a significant effect on an international site. This has followed the key criteria for the area covered by the drought permit: Is the proposed drought permit within the boundary of a European site? Is the proposed drought permit in hydrological continuity with a European site? Does the proposed drought permit have the potential to affect the interest features of the European site(s) either directly or indirectly? The conclusions of these assessments identifies if there are any mechanisms by which potential hazards arising from the proposed drought permits would be likely to have a significant effect on any European sites. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk The information from these assessments has been used to undertake an HRA screening exercise, which concluded that the majority of the drought management actions identified within this draft drought plan would not have likely significant impacts on any European site. Two drought actions (River Nene intake to refill Rutland Water and River Great Ouse intake to refill Grafham Water) were identified as having the potential to affect habitats and species within the designated sites, largely due to increased orthophosphate levels. Sites potentially

107 99 affected were the Ouse Washes Special Protection Area, Ramsar and SAC and the Nene Washes SPA, Ramsar and Special Area of Conservation. An appropriate assessment was undertaken for these two actions, in consultation with the Environment Agency and Natural England, and is available on request. The assessment has concluded that the drought actions as proposed, with the mitigation measures suggested and the requirement for the HRA at the drought permit or drought order stage, would not adversely affect the integrity of the European sites. In the unlikely case that an individual measured subsequently cannot be shown not to have a significant impact on the integrity of a European site, alternative options would be considered (with an appropriate assessment if relevant) or a case made for proceedings on the grounds of Imperative Reasons of Overriding Public Interest. The latter would require compensation measures to be identified and operational prior to proceeding. The HRA will be further updated once the additional work for the River Wensum, River Ouse and River Nene is complete. We will not submit any application for a drought permit at these sites until this work is complete. Similarly the Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act 2000 requires a water company to take reasonable steps to further the conservation and enhancement of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) features. This includes operations that are outside of the boundaries of the site but could affect the site. This has been appropriately considered in the environmental monitoring plan. 7.5 Strategic Environment Assessment The Environment Agency's guidelines state that where a specific drought management action has been assessed as likely to have a significant effect on a European site, then a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) will be required. It was concluded from the HRA's completed for the draft Drought Plan that there was no requirement to subject our plan to an SEA. In its representation to our draft Drought Plan 2012, the Environment Agency has stated that it is "good practice to complete an SEA for Water Company Drought Plans" as the process helps to identify environmental impacts of drought actions and alternative options. We have requested that this is made more explicit in future revisions of their guidelines. Natural England, in its representation to the draft Drought Plan 2012, reiterated the opinion that an "SEA is required, regardless of the requirement (or not) for a HRA, as the Drought Plan is a statutory plan, and could influence a development plan". Anglian Water remains of the opinion that the Drought Plan is a management plan, that lays out the operational framework that we will use to manage public water supplies during a drought. We do not consider that the Drought Plan sets out a framework for future development as this detail is included in our Water Resources Management Plan. We have considered the other criteria defining the need for a SEA and have not been able to conclude a requirement. Anglian Water does, however, recognise the concerns expressed by the Environment Agency and Natural England. We therefore completed a SEA scoping report, upon which we consulted with the relevant statutory bodies, namely the Environment Agency, Natural England and English Heritage, between February and March We have produced an SEA Environmental Report which is published alongside the Drought Plan 2014.

108 100 Part Three Minimising the Impact of Drought on the Environment Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk

109 Part Three Drought Management and Communications Plan

110 102 Part Three Drought Management and Communications Plan 8 Drought Management and Communications Plan This section describes the plan we have in place to enable the timely and effective management of a drought, including details of our Drought Management Team. Our communications plan sets out the actions we would undertake during a drought event and how we would communicate these with our customers, regulators and key stakeholders. Experience from previous droughts in our region has outlined the importance of effective internal and external liaison. The following sections provide details on the management structure that would be mobilised at the onset of a drought and how this team will be best placed to manage us effectively both internally and externally. 8.1 Management Structure - Drought Management Team Our Drought Management Team is Chaired by the Director of Water Services and includes senior representatives from across the organisation. The roles and responsibilities of the core members of the Drought Management Team are defined in Table 20. Role Director of Water Services Responsibility All activities relating to water supply, water networks, process science, leakage management and local capital delivery. Specific drought responsibility to ensure that the water supply system is operating at full capacity. Asset Management Director All activities relating to the management of our extensive asset base, the associated investment requirements, investment programme delivery and supply chain management. Specific drought responsibility to assess appropriate investment requirements for key assets (abstraction sources, networks and water treatment works). Regulation Director Director of Corporate Affairs Ensuring that we adhere to all the requirements of our economic, environmental and quality regulators. All internal and external communications. Specific drought responsibility to ensure that we adhere with the Communications Plan. Head of Water Resources To ensure that we maintain the security of upstream water resources to effectively manage all aspects of the supply demand balance and regulatory compliance. Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk Specific drought responsibility to produce and update the drought plan, to monitor available water resources, to report on drought status, to address environmental concerns and to identify investment requirements. Table 20 Roles and responsibilities of the Drought Management Team

111 103 The Drought Management Team will convene on a regular basis, as required, with minutes being maintained by a Drought Management Team technical secretary. The Drought Management Team will be fully supported by their teams and other experts within the company as required. Where necessary, sub groups will be set up for the delivery of specific supply or demand side drought schemes. Experience from the drought highlighted the importance of creating a central team with dedicated resources to help co-ordinate the drought response. Depending on the severity of the drought, the Drought Management Team may choose to form a central Drought Response Team, with experts seconded from across the business. The Head of the Drought Response Team would have responsibility for co-ordinating the various sub-groups and multiple activities being carried out across the business, reporting directly to the Drought Management Team. The drought governance structure that was adopted during the drought is presented in Figure 28. aêçìöüí=j~å~öéãéåí=qé~ã píê~íéöáå=éñéåìíáîé=öêçìé eáöü=äéîéä=ëíê~íéöó oéåéáîé=üáöüäáöüí=êééçêíë=ñêçã=í~åíáå~ä=çééê~íáçåë aéåáëáçå=ã~âáåö _äìé=ëâó=íüáåâáåö oéîáéï=âéó=êáëâëi=áëëìéë=c=çéééåçéååáéë j~å~öáåö=aáêéåíçêi=aáêéåíçê=çñ=t~íéê=péêîáåéëi aáêéåíçê=çñ=^ëëéí=j~å~öéãéåíi=oéöìä~íáçå=j~å~öéê aáêéåíçê=çñ=`çêéçê~íé=^ññ~áêëi=`ìëíçãéê=péêîáåéë=aáêéåíçêi= eé~ç=çñ=t~íéê=oéëçìêåéëi=aêçìöüí=oéëéçåëé=qé~ã=j~å~öéê t~íéê oéëçìêåéë j~å~öéãéåí bãéêöéååó mä~ååáåö `çããë `ìëíçãéê `~êé tbjë píê~íéöáå=aêçìöüí aéäáîéêó oéöìä~íçêó cáå~ååé q~åíáå~ä aêçìöüí dêçìéë ^ëëéí mä~ååáåö t~íéê oéëçìêåéë fåíéêîéåíáçåë aêíû `~éáí~ä `ççêçáå~íáçå= dêçìé aêçìöüí fd Alliance Special Projects Local `fd Figure 28 Drought Governance Structure Once convened, the Drought Management Team has overall responsibility for managing the drought through to a point when resources have been recovered to normal operating levels. Early promotion of communications to our customers is essential at this stage in order to communicate the potential drought situation and the impacts that this could lead to in due course. The Drought Management Team includes a communications lead that will deliver key drought messages and actions both rapidly and effectively. Details of our communications plan is detailed in Section 8.4 with full details in Appendix 9.

112 104 Part Three Drought Management and Communications Plan It is worth highlighting that we have technical experts, managers and directors across all areas of the business that have good experience in managing drought events in the Anglian region. These resources will be made available as drought conditions prevail. In addition, we have an established succession plan to develop water resource specialists in the area of drought management. 8.2 Internal Drought Management - Emergency Planning As a water and wastewater company, Anglian Water has a statutory obligation to satisfy our customers' needs, and that includes protecting the vital services that we provide for them. The role of our Emergency Planning Team is to work closely with our operations teams on a variety of resilience plans in order that our obligations are met under the Security and Emergency Measures Direction (SEMD) Response and recovery plans have been prepared for every public water supply zone. These documents also include reference to plans developed to manage high summer water demands. The summer demand plans are produced and reviewed by key personnel across the entire business to ensure that all contingency measures are met in accordance with our obligations. A number of policies and procedures have been developed to address emergency events, including increased summer demands, heat waves and drought. At the start of each year meetings are held in preparation for the summer months and associated increased water demand. The activity over the summer period is reviewed in August/September and a review meeting is arranged to cover significant issues for subsequent resolution during the following winter. If there are no events causing concern over the summer, a meeting is not required. The meeting participants consist of: Regional Supply Manager. Tactical Operation Manager. Water Managers supply and networks. Senior works/network technicians. Leakage Manager. OMC Senior Duty Manager. Leakage Delivery Manager. Water Asset Planner. Emergency Planner. This group convenes on a routine basis as part of our business as usual management structure. 8.3 External Drought Management Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk Key stakeholders will be involved in the management of all stages of a drought in the Anglian region as follows: A drought planning liaison group will be established with the Environment Agency and regular liaisons will allow collaborative management of any potential drought. Increased reporting requirements will be agreed to manage each individual drought and we will

113 105 work closely with the Environment Agency to secure consistency with their area drought plans. We will consult closely with the Environment Agency and Natural England to understand and mitigate any potential impacts on the environment in relation to any drought orders/permit applications. Liaison with other licensed water undertakings continues to occur bilaterally and via regional liaison led by the Environment Agency. Appropriate public communication will be maintained throughout all stages of a drought to inform and engage our customers in a timely and effective manner. 8.4 Communications Plan We have on-going engagement with our customers about water resource issues in our region, and have developed our Love Every Drop campaign to raise awareness about the value of water. We want to get people thinking as responsibly about water as millions already do about recycling. One of our key Love Every Drop goals is to increase customer awareness about the value of water in our region and to encourage water efficient attitudes and behaviours. We consider the encouragement of 'Waterwise' behaviour to be a central theme to our demand management strategy. Our drought communications plan has been developed to be consistent with our Love Every Drop campaign and our water efficiency strategy. It aims to provide a flexible framework of communications that will ensure effective and timely communications with regulators and customers during a range of scenarios and allows us to be responsive to individual drought characteristics. Our Waterwise communication messages are tailored to respond as required to normal conditions, potential drought and actual drought. The approach to our communications strategy is presented in Appendix 9. Effective communications that engage customers in a timely manner are essential to reduce demand to conserve water for water supplies and to protect the environment during a drought. The key stakeholders that we liaise with are detailed in Table 21. Our communications plan outlines our liaison with regulators, customer interest groups and other partners at the different stages of a drought. Stakeholder Domestic customers Liaison Deliver continuous indirect and direct communication of the importance of 'Waterwise' behaviour and education. Means Communication in bills. External messaging. Website. Call centre representatives. Print and broadcast media. Commercial/industrial customers Maintain liaison regarding current situation via Business Account Managers. Encourage water conservation through water efficiency assessments, leakage audits and process optimisation. Face to face via Business Account Managers. Website. s/letters.

114 106 Part Three Drought Management and Communications Plan Stakeholder Liaison Means Business support staff. Appropriate business media. Regulators Environment Agency, Defra, Ofwat Close ongoing liaison at all levels. Regular water resources situation updates and sharing of data. Discussion of potential drought/drought issues and collaborative working to ensure effective and timely actions are taken. Routine meetings and briefings. Data sharing. /written. Communications. Via WaterUK. MPs, CCWater, Natural England, Local authorities Regular and open dialogue maintained. Provision of information via letters, meetings and situation updates. Drought situation updates available on our website. Liaison to enable the message to be communicated to a wider audience. Written and verbal communication as required. Routine meetings and briefings. Website updates. Neighbouring water companies, Water UK Media Implement regional and/or national drought groups to promote collaboration and consistent messaging 'Waterwise' messages and interviews. Offers of briefings and interviews. Situation updates and advice as required. Workshops, meetings, telephone conferences Press releases. Interviews. Website. Internal staff Briefings to employees. Updates to customer-facing staff. Intranet. Internal briefings. Table 21 Key stakeholders in our communication plan Our communications plan clearly demonstrates the link between the proposed demand management actions that we would take as we move from normal, to potential drought into drought. These are detailed in Section 6.2 and in full in Appendix 2. The communications plan considers the appropriate lead-in times for any communications actions directly linked to demand, and to a lesser extent, supply-side drought management actions. We recognise that timely communications are key for effective consultation, advertising and implementation of any restriction and drought permits and orders. We would pay considerable attention to communications with customers in relation to the implementation of the temporary water use restrictions as detailed in Section Drought Plan 2014 anglianwater.co.uk The Drought Management Team will develop an appropriate drought communication package and also develop links with other bodies as necessary. The communications plan may be delivered separately for a Resource Zone (RZ) or the region as a whole depending on the individual drought.

115 107 Our communications plan is cost-effective and has identified the most appropriate and cost-effective methods of communication. Where a drought affects our neighbouring water companies we will actively work together and with the Environment Agency to share information and best practice. We will collaboratively develop and implement collective responses and activities where appropriate. Whilst the supply demand planning for drought management options is based on our 19 RZs, we will continue to implement demand management options on a local authority basis. We believe this will be the most effective way of communicating with our customers in the areas that are affected. Our most recent experience of imposing customer restrictions during the drought was at the wider regional level, as we felt that the severity of the impending drought conditions was serious enough to require all of our customers to play their part in reducing the demand on water resources. Figure 29 shows the overlap between RZs and local authorities, and further more detailed plans for each RZ are presented in Appendix 1. Figure 29 RZ and Local Authority Boundaries