Operational performance

Climate change

The water industry is one of the largest users of energy in the UK and we aim to play a full part in support of Government’s plans to reduce emissions. We have been working over recent years to reduce our carbon footprint while preparing ourselves for the future challenges of a change in climate and the weather events we may face as a consequence. We will shortly commence commissioning of an advanced anaerobic digestion plant at Bran Sands which, when operational, will provide 50% (c.4.7 MW) of the energy requirements of the site. A similar investment for our site at Howdon, on Tyneside, has been included in our Final Business Plan submission.

Detailed below are some of our projects to reduce our impact on climate change:

• limiting tertiary UV disinfection outside the bathing water season at five major works reduces energy consumption and carbon emissions with no detrimental effect on the marine environment;
• introducing anaerobic digestion, as part of our sludge strategy, will generate power at three smaller sites initially, and at two larger sites (Bran Sands will be complete in 2009 and Howdon is planned for the next five year investment period) increasing our total renewable energy to over 20%;
• generating our own renewable energy with hydroelectric plants at Kielder, Derwent, Lartington and Wear Valley reservoirs and biogas combined heat and power at Stressholme, Hexham and Aycliffe;
• contributing to the project in the North Pennines, which has 27% of England’s peat-forming blanket bog which locks in carbon, preventing it being released into the atmosphere;
• encouraging customers, through our ‘Water is precious’ campaign, to use water wisely and recognise that if they waste water, they also waste energy (a water carbon footprint calculator is now available for customers on our websites to emphasise this link); and
• introducing a new work management system which will improve customer service and efficient working, and will also significantly reduce mileage in our vehicles.

Through these projects we have reduced the amount of energy used by almost 9% over the last five years. We are continuing to develop our understanding of the potential impacts of a changing climate. The UK Climate Projections will be published later this year and we will be revisiting our assessment in light of the new science that emerges.

Our work to date includes:

• publishing our Water Resource Management Plan and our strategic direction statement ‘Looking to the future’ which include an assessment of climate change on water resource needs for the next 25 years;
• undertaking an assessment of the main threats to service provisions and continuity from flooding, in response to the floods seen elsewhere in 2007 and the subsequent ‘Pitt Review: Lessons learned from the 2007 floods’ (Pitt Review);
• aiming by 2013 to have completed, with relevant agencies, a major study on Tyneside to explore sustainable drainage options that take into account regional development and the impact of climate change (building on similar work carried out in Hartlepool as part of the Defra ‘Making space for water’ scheme); and
• working with experts to understand the potential impact on our assets and sharing information with the North East Climate Change Adaptation Study and Action Plan published on 1 May 2008.