Ambitious demand reduction
We are committed to providing a high-quality, secure and reliable water supply to customers now and in the future.
We aim to achieve this in a way that is affordable and that takes into account the need to protect the environment.
At Cambridge Water, we’re committed to providing a high-quality and reliable water supply to customers.
To do this, we continually review and improve our water resource management to ensure long-term delivery of supplies.
Simply put, water resource management is the process of making sure we have enough water for everyone who needs it, while protecting the environment.
Every five years, we consult on and publish a long-term water resources management plan. This sets out how we’ll provide you with reliable and sustainable water supplies over the next 25 years.
We also work in partnership Water Resources East, which brings together a wide range of organisations to consider options for sustainable, long-term water supplies in our region.
Cambridge is one of the driest parts of England and classified as an ‘area of serious water stress’. The region relies almost entirely on groundwater abstraction from sensitive chalk aquifers and chalk streams that require environmental protection and restoration.
In creating the Water Resources Management Plan, there are a number of forecasts we need to make. These include:
Cambridge Water's Water Resources Management Plan 2024 is heavily shaped by population growth, environmental pressures on chalk streams and aquifers, climate change and customer expectations.
There are a number of demand, supply and sustainability options that we can consider.
To solve this future deficit, our strategic approach combines
Ambitious demand reduction
Major new water supply infrastructure
Large-scale environmental abstraction reductions
Regional collaboration through Water Resources East
Demand management commitments
Universal smart metering by 2030
This will deliver around 90-95% metering penetration and provide us with meaningful data to consider smart tariffs, identify customer-side leakage and to drive water efficiency amongst customers
Leakage reduction
We’re proud that we already have one of the lowest leakage rates in England. Our plans include further reducing leakage by 50% by 2040, from 14.6 million litres per day (2017/18 baseline) to 7.3 million litres per day. We aim to achieve this ten years ahead of the government’s target for the water sector.
Household water efficiency
We’re aiming to reduce water use from 120 million litres per person per day (2025/26 performance) to 117 million litres per day by 2038, and 110 litres per person per day by 2050.
We’ll do this through a number of measures, including water efficiency home visits, smart metering, innovative tariffs, and community campaigns like ‘Can for the Cam’ and ‘Yes We Cam’.
Business water efficiency
Our plan includes smart metering for all non-household customers, water audits, continuous flow monitoring and an enhanced assessment of new commercial developments before new supplies become available.
New supply infrastructure
Because environmental reductions remove large volumes of existing groundwater supply, we must develop new resources.
Grafham transfer
A new pipeline from Grafham water will supply the region with an additional 26 million litres per day from 2031-2. This will provide an interim solution until Fens reservoir is complete
Fens reservoir
This is the largest and most important scheme in our Water Resources Management Plan 2024, jointly developed with Anglian Water.
Operational from 2036-7, the reservoir will supply around 44 million litres a day to our region.
Environmental ambition
In order to restore rivers, wetlands and chalk streams, the plan includes major abstraction reductions, supported by demand and supply options. We are also undertaking chalk stream restoration, where priority environmental programmes include:
Climate change
While climate change is expected to reduce available water resources, impacts are considered manageable. Our supply system remains robust under a range of climate scenarios and stress tests.
Customer feedback
Consulting with customers about our Water Resources Management Plan is an important part of the process.
Customers consistently prioritised:
Reliable water supplies
Affordable bills
Leakage reduction
Environmental protection
More control over water usage through metering
Protection of vulnerable customers
Key findings from customer research included:
Drought resilience
The plan will:
Every five years, we also produce a drought management plan which aligns with our water resources management plan. This outlines the additional measures we can undertake during a period of drought.
Our future demand and environmental obligations can’t be met through demand management alone.
The plan combines industry-leading leakage reduction, universal metering, water efficiency and major new regional infrastructure – especially Fens Reservoir – to safeguard supplies, while restoring sensitive chalk streams and aquifers.
While heavily dependent on the successful delivery of the Grafham Transfer and Fens Reservoir, the plan represents one of the most environmentally ambitious water resources plan in England.
Take a look at our latest Water Resources Management Plan >
Take a look at our latest Drought Management Plan >
Our proposals for a strategic water resources option to deliver future resilience for public water supplies >
We are currently undergoing work to prepare our next draft water resources management plan - you can take a look at the documents here >