Residents across Hampshire are being invited to share their views on updated plans for the Hampshire Water Transfer and Water Recycling Project.
The project aims to create a new, sustainable water source to supply over 700,000 homes and businesses across the county. It’s designed to reduce the amount of water taken from Hampshire’s chalk streams – including the rare and sensitive ecosystems of the rivers Test and Itchen – especially during times of drought.
The plans involve building a new water recycling plant that would take treated wastewater from Budds Farm Wastewater Treatment Works and further purify it using advanced treatment techniques. Up to 60 million litres of purified recycled water could then be pumped into the new Havant Thicket Reservoir, which is currently under construction.
Water stored in the reservoir would later be treated to high drinking water standards before being added to the region’s supply network. The reservoir itself is being built by Portsmouth Water, with long-term funding through water customer bills.
A public consultation on the original plans took place in summer 2024, and since then, further water quality modelling has been carried out. The results of that modelling are now available, and a new round of consultation has opened to gather feedback on the updated proposals.
The updated plans also include several design refinements, many of which reflect feedback received from residents during the first consultation.
The current consultation is online-only and runs until Thursday 4 April 2025. Residents can take part by visiting www.hampshirewtwrp.co.uk.
Feedback received will help shape the final version of the project before a formal planning application is submitted later this year.