We are proud to provide a sustainable, affordable, clean and safe water supply and to manage and treat the waste water returned to us in a way that protects the environment.
Over the last ten years Essex & Suffolk Water has introduced further leakage and demand management measures, and added new sources of supply. However, there are still insufficient water resources available to Essex & Suffolk Water to meet the predicted demand for water in the future.
Demand for water in the Essex supply area is predicted to rise by around 6% over the next 25 years, almost entirely due to an increase in population.
There is a therefore a requirement to make available a long term and sustainable increase in water resources for use in the Essex Supply Area.
The Abberton Scheme involves increasing by the storage capacity of Abberton Reservoir (located south of Colchester in Essex) by 58%. This will be achieved by raising the top water level in the main part of the Reservoir by 3.2 metres. This raising, together with various habitat creation and management measures that form part of the Scheme, have been designed to increase the value of the Reservoir for birds and other wildlife. Abberton Reservoir is a Ramsar Site (Wetland of International Importance for birds), a Special Protection Area (SPA) designated under the EU Birds Directive, and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to wildfowl.
Since the 1970s, Essex has required transfers of water from the Ely Ouse in Norfolk to fill its reservoirs during very dry periods.
As part of the Abberton Scheme it is proposed to vary the Environment Agency’s existing abstraction licences at Denver and Blackdyke in Norfolk, which control the amount of water transferred to Essex from the Ely Ouse. This will provide the potential for additional water for transfer from Denver to fill the enlarged Abberton Reservoir.
In order to transfer additional water from Denver, it is proposed to lay two underground pipelines, one from Kirtling Green in Suffolk to Wixoe on the Essex/Suffolk border where the additional water will be put into the River Stour, and another from Wormingford, Essex, where that water will be abstracted from the river and transferred to Abberton Reservoir.
It is essential that the environment and local community are protected before, during and after construction. A large amount of work to assess any environmental effects of the Scheme has been completed.