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About the Water Supply
Companies |
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Click
here for information on Drought Orders &
Hosepipe Bans |
 Essex
and Suffolk Water have one of the best records in the British water
industry for tackling the problem of leaking pipes, although much of the
water mains network is made from old cast iron pipes.
Essex is a growing and dynamic county. Since the 1960s, population in
the region has grown by 18%. Today this growth continues, more new homes
are being built across Essex to fulfil the population needs. Increasing
population, businesses and higher personal water consumption in the
home, means that demand for water is high and will continue to rise into
the future.
Essex is the driest county in the UK, receiving only 50% of the average
annual rainfall in a normal year. This means that the amount of
available water is low and only half the water supplied in the Essex
area is sourced from within the county. In a dry year up to one third of
the required water is derived from the Ely Ouse to Essex Transfer Scheme
(EOETS), which transfers water from Denver in Norfolk, via pipelines and
pumping stations to the River Stour and River Blackwater in Essex.
A large strategic resource is required within Essex to provide the
amount of water required to ensure a continued future supply to
customers over the next twenty five years. After over a decade of
investigation, the resource being pursued by Essex & Suffolk Water
is the Abberton Scheme.
This Scheme has three main components: Raising the top water level of
Abberton Reservoir by 3.2 metres to increase the storage capacity by 60%
Obtaining additional water to fill the raised reservoir, by varying
abstraction licences at Denver and Blackdyke, as part of the Ely Ouse to
Essex Transfer Scheme, operated by the Environment Agency. Laying
pipelines to transfer the additional water to Abberton from Denver.
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