Jersey Water has made 11 recommendations for meeting the water supply needs for Jersey until 2045 and beyond.
The Water Resources and Drought Management Plan aims to address an expected deficit in water supplies over a 25-year period caused by climate change and a rising population and is hoping islanders will engage in the process of finding the right solutions.
Since 2018 Jersey Water has been working with specialist consultants Ricardo Energy & Environment to forecast the reliability of water supply according to historic rainfall patterns, predicted climate change and existing water storage and supply infrastructure. The study identified a long-term deficit in reliable water supply for Jersey under severe drought conditions and accordingly recommends a series of measures to address the predicted deficit.
As part of the Preferred Plan, Jersey Water had previously identified the potential to repurpose part of La Gigoulande Quarry in St Peter’s Valley to create a new reservoir once minerals extraction had ceased. Along with other measures this could have helped provide future water supply resilience for the Island, however following the determination in the Island Plan that La Gigoulande will not be set aside for water storage needs, Jersey Water has adapted its strategy to cover the predicted deficit in other ways.
The full plan includes –
• Water efficiency measures
• Reduction in leakage
• Temporary customer restrictions during droughts
• Catchment protection
• Extension of La Rosiere desalination plant
• Addressing PFAS pollution in St Ouen’s boreholes
• Delivering additional reservoir storage
Mark Bowden, Asset Manager said, “We are pleased that public water supply has been recognised as a key strategic need for the Island within the Island Plan approach. The decision on La Gigoulande Quarry is disappointing but we acknowledge the need to balance the conflicting demands on the Island’s limited resources. The decision does present us with reduced options for addressing the long-term needs for Jersey’s water supply. Fundamentally, the Island suffers from a lack of adequate water storage relative to the demand, we will therefore be looking to provide increased reservoir storage in other ways and in other locations to provide the future resilience that we need.
“Over the coming 5-year period we will be enhancing our UK industry-leading leakage and water efficiency performance and are planning to undertake a further expansion of the La Rosière Desalination Plant to provide short term resilience whilst developing our long-term plans.”
The full Water Resources and Drought Management Plan and summary document are available on the Jersey Water website.