Notice

Environment Agency: application made to abstract water

Published 25 October 2023

This notice was withdrawn on 24 November 2023

The consultation period for this application has ended. You can view current licences on the Public Registers.

Applies to England

Details of the application

The Environment Agency has applied to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for a licence.

The Environment Agency is giving notice of this application, in accordance with Section 37 of the Water Resources Act 1991 and Paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 of the Water Resources (Abstraction and Impounding) Regulations 2006.

The application is for new abstraction licences to replace, on different terms, expiring licence numbers; 28/39/21/0066 (Upper Pang – 5 boreholes centred around National Grid Reference (NGR): SU 49588 82462), 28/39/21/0067 (Lower Pang – 5 boreholes centred around NGR: SU 51326 77571), 28/39/22/0390 (Lambourn - 7 boreholes centred around NGR: SU 33130 81100), 28/39/22/0391 (Shefford - 4 boreholes centred around NGR: SU 39769 80338), 28/39/22/0392 (Winterbourne - 5 boreholes centred around NGR: SU 44597 75763), 28/39/22/0394 (Enbourne - 4 boreholes centred around NGR: SU 55285 63432), 28/39/22/0395 (Beech Hill - 1 borehole at NGR: SU 69359 65321) and 28/39/24/0146 (Stanford End - 1 borehole at NGR: SU 70720 62872) for the purposes of augmenting surface water flows in drought, drought recovery and low flow conditions and to support public water supply abstraction in emergency circumstances. This set of 8 licences is operated as the West Berkshire Groundwater Scheme (WBGWS) by the Environment Agency and has the potential to abstract a maximum of 188,500 cubic metres of water per day and 45,868,333 cubic metres of water per year from the Chalk and Upper Greensand strata between Swindon and Reading.    

Further details of the proposal are: recent use has shown 26 of the scheme’s 32 boreholes pump at a higher daily quantity than authorised when first switched on. The different terms for the proposed new licences is to allow this increased daily quantity for the first 72 hours (3 days) of use, during which the pump(s) will be manually adjusted down, thereafter the current daily rate would apply. This increased quantity will be limited to three start-ups per applicable pump per year, with notification required of each start-up and shutdown. A daily aggregate quantity will be applied to each multi-borehole licence set to a total of it’s current daily quantities to ensure no more water than currently can be abstracted and requiring a phased switch on of pumps for those licences. The increased rates will be allowed until 31/03/2028, when a project to uprate the pumps and their controls will be completed and will resolve the issue, with the current daily rates applying from this date on. Further, a purpose will be added to each licence to authorise pump maintenance, testing and calibration use. The licences will be set to expire on 31/03/2035 in line with the Kennet and Vale of White Horse Abstraction Licensing Strategy.              

How to view the application

Please contact us via e-mail or use the number below to arrange to see the application documents.

How to comment on the application

Send any representation about this application by email, quoting reference number NPS/WR/036564 to the Environment Agency, at: PSC-WaterResources@environment-agency.gov.uk

By 23 November 2023.

After the 23 November 2023, the Environment Agency will be able to grant a licence authorising the proposal. The licence shall be viewed as granted, unless the Secretary of State, either as a result of any representations made about the proposal or otherwise, instructs or asks for an application to be made to them.

For advice about how to make a representation call 03708 506 506.