How South East Water is adapting to a changing climate

South East Water has published its fourth Climate Change Adaptation Report highlighting how the business will adapt to keep taps flowing while the climate around it changes.

Analysis by the business has uncovered 10 key headline risks which are all linked but fall into three main categories: water scarcity, infrastructure resilience and water quality deterioration.

Some risks are short term, such as flooding or drought, while others are long-term such as rising sea levels, increasing temperatures and changing rainfall patterns.

All may affect the company’s ability to supply drinking water to its 2.3 million customers in the future.

Oliver Martin, South East Water’s Regulation and Strategy Director, said: “Since 2020, we’ve seen a significant change in the climate within the south east which has impacted our ability to supply top quality drinking water to some of our customers during periods of extreme weather.

“We’ve had five significant interruptions to customers’ tap water supplies, which is unacceptable to us, and we’re already making adaptations and investment to prevent these incidents occurring again.

“Adaptations include building flood defences at key locations, installing more generators to keep water supply sites running in the event of extreme weather and building new water treatment works such as our £39 million new plant in Kent.

“Implementing the additional actions within our latest Climate Change Adaptation Report will help us overcome many of the challenges outlined, ensuring our customers continue to receive the service they expect.”

You can read the company’s Climate Change Adaptation Report, Round 4, on its website: www.southeastwater.co.uk/ccadaptation