The Environment Agency has updated its Water resources planning guidance and Environmental Destination for Water Resources planning guidance following a consultation which ran from 13 October 2025 to 5 December 2025.

The Environmental Destination for Water Resources planning guidance has now been renamed as “Environmental Destination for Water Resources – planning guidance to support water company and regional water resources planning’.

Due to the high volume of detailed responses received and what the EA described as "current resource constraints within the team", the Agency needed to extend the original timeline for completing the consultation review.

The water resources planning guideline, published jointly by the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales and Ofwat, sets out the expectations that government and regulators have for how water companies in England and Wales should prepare their statutory water resources management plans (WRMPs). The guideline is updated every 5 years, ahead of the next cycle of WRMPs. The next set of plans are due to be completed in 2029.

The consultation responses highlighted environmental destination as the most significant area of interest, with population growth and demand forecasting also emerging as key concerns.

Key changes made to the guideline following the consultation are as follows.

Environmental destination

Clarified governance and decision-making arrangements for the environmental destination and extra guidance for developing alternative planning pathways and scenarios added, with a further explanation of how evidence from investigations can inform this. Clarified how the environmental destination links with other planning frameworks including river basin management planning and the water industry national environment programme. This section relates to guidance for water companies in England only guidance will be issued separately for water companies in Wales.

Baseline and demand management programmes

Clearer emphasis placed on water companies using realistic baseline and demand management programmes. Demand targets are national (for England as a whole) and water companies should demonstrate their contribution. Water companies are still expecedt to be ambitious and innovative in their demand management as this is critical to future water supplies.

Nature-based solutions

To encourage the inclusion of nature-based solutions, the guidance now allows these to be included as preferred options in resource zones in deficit where the primary benefit is to supply (even if their contribution to the supply-demand balance is uncertain).

Further refinements around growth

Refined how water companies should consider local and strategic plans and also removed specific reference to 9% reduction of non-household by 2037 to 2038. This is a national target that contributes to the overall distribution input per person target and some companies may have significant non-household growth in their area.

The updated guideance also includes the following changes:

• refinements to how NAVs should be considered by incumbent water companies
• refinements to the in-delivery schemes section
• inclusion of the consumer involvement rule
• explanation of robust cost estimation
• more emphasis on planning for peak demand
• allowing baseline leakage to include changes due to climate change and growth where there is evidence to support this
• refinement of the Habitats Regulation Assessment section

Click here to access the updated guidance online