Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | APRIL 2021 | 35 Operational Excellence Analysis Bulk supply gets real The UK's first major reservoir since the 1980s is being built by Portsmouth Water - to provide bulk supplies of water to Southern. It is, in every sense, a ground-breaking project, says Ruth Williams. P ortsmouth has owned the Havant Thicket site since the 1960s and made an attempt a decade ago to build a res- ervoir on it but the case was not considered strong enough at that time. So what is differ- ent now? The difference today is that Portsmouth now has in place a bulk supply agreement with Southern for 21 megalitres a day for 80 years. That historic agreement was signed in February and came in response to Southern needing to drastically reduce abstraction in Hampshire to protect chalk streams. It is part of a project that Portsmouth chief executive Bob Taylor explains has been in the pipeline for many years. When he joined Portsmouth in 2018 a memorandum of understanding was in place between the two companies and the reservoir will be one of a number of projects Southern is pursuing as it seeks alternative water sources. Planning pending While a decision on planning permission is pending, the teams have been busy with pre- paratory work and discussions between the two companies and regulators over the terms of the bulk supply agreement. Procurement for the two main construction packages was launched in January. "It's an unusual project in the way that it's structured from a regulatory perspective. Most of the architecture came through our PR19 final determination," Taylor says. Between the draŽ and final determina- tions there was a flurry of regulatory activity, which Taylor says involved very constructive and intensive sessions to build the architec- ture based upon "business as usual" princi- ples from within the sector. More recent negotiations included finalis- ing further regulatory guidance and licence changes for both Southern and Portsmouth, which Ofwat is now consulting on. Because it is a new and innovative agree- ment structure, Portsmouth is working with Ofwat and the Regulators' Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development (RAPID) to see what elements can be repli- cated for other large projects. The alliance, which was formed last year, aims is to have major infrastructure projects shovel-ready by 2025. Although the reservoir preceded RAPID's formation, Taylor says the experience with the alliance has been "so far so good", with the rigid timetable running on track and the established working rela- tionship with Southern forming a solid foun- dation to extend the dialogue to other areas. "It's a good example of collaboration in many ways, not just ourselves and Southern, but Ofwat and RAPID on the periphery watch- ing how things evolve and develop. It's inno- vative particularly in the sense of the specific regulatory structure that has been created for this project. We hope to foster more innova- tion through the construction process to get efficiencies in the cost of the project." Collaboration and innovation have been pushed by Ofwat for how the sector should be functioning now to prepare it for the chal- lenges of the future. Taylor believes this pro- ject is a strong example of collaboration and innovation from both companies. "It's part of our evolving role as Ports- mouth Water, if you fast forward to the com- pletion in 2029/30 we will be exporting about a third of our water to Southern. We are very much part of the regional solution to water resources through the reservoir, the two other bulk supply agreements and a fourth in the offing. That will come to about a third of what we produce." As a water-only company, Portsmouth is far smaller than Southern, for whom the bulk supply agreements form part of the solution to the challenges in its western region. Taylor says Portsmouth is increas- ingly becoming involved as a key partner, which he describes as a strong indication of how its role is changing from relatively small, self-contained company with surplus resources to one that is helping with the challenges in the region. Growing role "Havant Thicket's role as a regional hub will grow beyond what is currently being consid- ered. The ability to store water for periods of shortage, particularly as we feel the impacts of climate change ever more strongly, is essential." This chimes with the National Infrastruc- ture Commission saying in 2018 that while demand management was important, in the longer term it would prove insufficient. "That's why we're building reservoirs again and looking at large-scale schemes to move water around. Water resource management planning is a regional discipline and some- thing that must be done to support areas from surplus to those deficits," Taylor says. Although this will be the first major res- ervoir built since the late 1980s, Portsmouth is confident the technical know-how for con- struction remains strong. "This is essentially an earth-moving exer- cise," Taylor says. Ruth Williams, water correspondent An artist's impression of the visitor centre at the proposed Havant Thicket reservoir

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