Southern Water cancels plan for Sandown desalination plant

Southern Water in the UK, has decided to drop plans to construct a desalination plant at Sandown on the Isle of Wight, following a public consultation on its water strategy.

The company said that the £88m plant is not needed following the emergence of other water efficiency options. These include a new scheme to increase the flow of water through the transfer main from Hampshire South to 20 million litres of water per day.

The company has a 25-year water resources management strategy aimed at preventing hosepipe bans and future droughts. The revised plan calls for average water use to reduce from 152l a day per person to below 130l by 2040.

Southern Water is also exploring the possibility of a desalination scheme in an industrial park near Southampton. The mainland plant would also support supplies to the Isle of Wight and be constructed by 2028.

Southern Water strategy and policy manager Meyrick Gough said that the revised plan introduces much more water efficiency to help customers save water, energy and money.

"We heard strong support for this and as our programme to install water meters for the majority of our customers is due to finish in 2015 then we need to continue to support our customers to make savings," Gough added.

The revised plan will lead to a reduction in the use of water restrictions such as hosepipe bans to once every 10 years on average. It also aims to halve the risk of extreme restrictions such as standpipes in the streets or rota cuts where water is only available for a few hours.