Campaigners protest treated sewage water plan

Campaigners say Southern Water is ignoring cheaper, more sustainable alternatives

A protest has been held over a £1.2bn Southern Water project, which would see waste water from sewage treatment turned into drinking water.

Dozens of residents gathered near Langstone Harbour, Hampshire, where a recycling plant could be built to treat the water.

The water firm says the process would mean much less water being taken from the environmentally sensitive Rivers Test and Itchen.

Campaigners say Southern Water is ignoring cheaper and more sustainable alternatives.

Southern Water is currently consulting on plans to build a recycling plant in Havant and associated underground pipelines and pumping stations.

A public consultation on the proposals runs until Tuesday.

Members of campaign group Havant Matters held placards at the gathering on Saturday, with messages for the company.

"Southern Water Stinks," read one, while another read: "We Don't Trust Southern Water."

Once treated, the recycled water would be pumped to Havant Thicket Reservoir, which is currently being built, then piped 25 miles (40km) to Otterbourne, where it would be treated again and supplied to customers.

The recycling plant would be built on a former landfill site, close to Langstone Harbour.

Speaking at the protest on Saturday, Bob Comlay, Solent Protection Society's vice chair, said he was concerned about the impact on the harbour and the Solent.

He said the process would produce waste of "highly concentrated warm brine, which contains solid residue from filtration".

This by-product would be released "in the middle of the Solent" via a long sea outfall pipe, he said, adding: "There will be impacts."

'Waste of public money'

Environmental advisor Tracey Viney said Southern Water could spend the money on "much more sustainable projects, much closer to where the water is needed".

She said: "You could build three reservoirs for the same price as this scheme and they would last 200 years.

"This won't be around in 60 years, so it's a complete waste of public money. We get plenty of rain, we just need to find better ways of collecting it."

'Drier than Dallas'

Southern Water's managing director of water, Tim McMahon, said: 'We need to do this. It's not really a choice.

"The South East is water scarce. It's drier than Dallas, Istanbul and Sydney. We need 2.5 billion litres of water extra per day by 2050 to meet demand and protect the environment."

He said alternatives had been looked into and would be developed in future but said the water recycling and transfer project was the best option.

He said modelling showed the reject water produced in the process would have no environmental impact.

The recycled water would be pumped to Havant Thicket Reservoir, which is currently being built

Water recycling is used in other countries and other water companies in the UK are considering using it.

Mr Mahon said Southern Water would be making "incredibly purified water".

"We put it through a membrane that's 50 times smaller than a human hair to reduce the chemicals and salts in it," he said.

"We'll then mix it in the reservoir with spring water and that goes back into the water plant to get treated to the normal standards.

"It makes it better probably than people are drinking today."

Following a public consultation, Southern Water will submit a development consent order application next year.

The project is deemed to be of national significance so the environment secretary will decide if it can proceed to an examination stage and ultimately be given approval.