Thames Water has replied to comments received during its recent public consultation on its draft Water Resources Management Plan.

The company's Statement of Response - which has been submitted to Defra - also details other factors which have had a significant impact on water supply and demand forecasts in the last 12 months. These include the economic downturn and revisions to population forecasts.

David Owens, Thames Water's CEO, said:

"We are grateful to the 315 individuals and organisations who took the time to make over 2,000 comments on our draft Plan. Since the consultation was launched last year there have been a number of highly significant factors, which combined with comments received, have resulted in important revisions.

"The economic downturn has had a significant impact on our water demand forecasts. As a result, we are now predicting a slower increase in population and household numbers from those outlined in our draft Plan. This, combined with lower commercial water use and customers' continued efforts to save water following the drought, means that overall demand for water will increase more slowly than previously forecast, particularly in the next five years.

"We have amended our Plan to reflect these changes. Our demand management programme, which includes leakage reduction, more metering and water efficiency, remains at the centre of our plans, but in some cases we have been able to extend the period for this work to be undertaken. This will ease the pressure on customer bills in the short-term and enable us to deliver our programme at a steadier rate, resulting in less disruption.

"The long and difficult drought we experienced in 2005 and 2006 brought home to all of us that we cannot be complacent about our water supplies. Our customers have repeatedly told us that they do not want us to take risks. It is important that we plan now to ensure we can maintain the balance between supply and demand throughout the 25-year period of the Plan.

"Additional water resources will be required by 2020 and, after carefully re-examining all the options, we still believe there is a strong case for a major new reservoir in Oxfordshire. However, in view of the scale of the outstanding uncertainties it is appropriate to promote some smaller schemes first. We will continue to develop the reservoir scheme to ensure that it can be operational when needed, currently indicated to be 2026.

"The uncertainties include climate change, the potential requirement to reduce existing abstractions on environmental grounds, and the rate of increase of both business and domestic consumption. These factors will be closely monitored and any changes will be reflected in annual updates to this plan, and in future plans - which are produced every five years."

Key revisions to the draft Plan

A reduction to water demand forecasts are among the main revisions to the draft Plan. The forecast for per capita consumption (PCC) has been substantially reduced from 157 litres per head per day (l/h/d) currently to 135 l/h/d by 2035. The reduction in demand forecast has been driven by several factors including: reduced population growth forecasts; amendments to housing projections; improved understanding of customers' reduced water consumption following the drought; the economic downturn and adjustments to water usage figures to reflect new information.
As a result of the revised demand forecast, the company's integrated demand management approach to leakage, targeted metering and water efficiency will now be delivered over an extended period. The timetable for the targeted metering programme has been extended. While Thames still aims to meter all properties in its region,  this will now be achieved by 2025 rather than 2020.

In the longer term, the company still strongly believes a strategic regional resource is required, to guarantee supply to customers in Swindon, Oxfordshire and London. On the basis of the information available now, the reservoir will need to be operational by 2026.

Uncertainties

The company said there were considerable uncertainties about the scale of future demand for water and available water supplies, including:

• The depth and duration of the economic recession
• New climate change scenarios expected from the Government in Spring 2009
• Potential reductions in existing abstractions on environmental grounds, including as a result of the Water Framework Directive.