WildFish: Southern Water drought measures could kill Atlantic salmon

Southern Water published its Statement of Response to its draft Water Resource Management Plan at the beginning of the month, proposing to continue its drought permits for at least another 10 years.

The company said it would be impossible to maintain the supply-demand balance during a drought before 2035, without drought permits for the rivers Test, Itchen and Candover.

The permits give water companies the flexibility to manage water resources and use other sources during an exceptional shortage of rain.

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Wildfish, a charity campaigning for wild fish and their environment, believes the extensions will over-abstract water from the Hampshire chalk streams to ecologically unsafe limits.

The extended time frames requested by Southern Water (Image: WildFish)

James Overington, water policy officer at WildFish, said: “While Southern Water delays the delivery of its alternative water resources, salmon populations on the Test and Itchen plummet.

“Reduced flow on these rivers, caused by dry conditions and over-abstraction, is undoubtedly impacting salmon numbers.

“Last year’s drought resulted in the lowest ever returning salmon numbers on the Itchen and the fourth lowest on the Test since 1990. Salmon numbers on both rivers are less than half the conservation limit - which is the minimum number required to maintain the population. These populations of wild iconic fish are running out of time.”

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Janina Gray, deputy chief executive at WildFish, said: “With the Environment Agency’s (EA) section 20 agreement in absolute tatters, we have little faith that Southern Water will meet even these re-negotiated deadlines. Salmon on the Test and Itchen desperately need a regulator who will apply the brakes now, before it's too late.”

In 2018, the EA made a legal agreement with Southern Water to protect the River Test, Itchen and Candover Brook from unsustainable abstraction.

The water company was given the deadline of 2027 to introduce an alternative water to stop the use of drought measures – except in extremely rare circumstances on the River Test.

The statutory deadline was a win for the chalk streams and their salmon populations. However, Southern Water has been unable to secure the alternative water resource on time and therefore extended the deadline nearly 10 years past the original agreement.

A spokesperson for Southern Water said: “Developing our Water Resources Management Plan is an extremely complicated process, which takes into account a range of different priorities, partners and projects including the construction of a new reservoir and proposed water recycling projects. These considerations have resulted in a slight delay to a small number of schemes.  

“The reality is that this vital work is at the frontline of society’s battle against water scarcity – one of the biggest challenges facing the UK and wider world, influenced by climate change, population growth and other factors. Our approach to solving this challenge will not please everyone, and we recognise that views on issues like water recycling, construction of pipelines and the future of house building, raise strong emotions throughout our communities. 

“But if we do nothing, we could face a 300m litre per day shortfall in water supplies by 2040, increasing to a 500m litre per day shortfall by 2075. We remain committed to delivering these important projects quickly, efficiently, and carefully – and we will continue to work hard to protect and enhance our environment.”