Welcome to our dedicated website for the Hampshire Water Transfer and Water Recycling Project.
Project Overview
The Project would create a new source of water to supply homes and businesses in Hampshire, so less water needs to be taken from the county’s chalk stream rivers. Our proposal is to tap into the highly treated wastewater that we currently waste and use advanced treatment techniques to turn it into purified recycled water.
This approach, called water recycling, is widely used around the world and will enable us to take significantly less water from the environment - especially during a drought, when nature needs it most. The Project will transform the way we source, treat and supply water across Hampshire for many generations to come.
Creating a new, resilient and sustainable water supply will protect and enhance the county's rare and sensitive chalk streams, while maintaining supplies for our communities and the local economy.
Application accepted for examination
We submitted our Development Consent Order (DCO) application for the Project on 28 May 2026. It has now been accepted for examination by the Planning Inspectorate, marking an important milestone for the Project.
Anyone can register as an Interested Party to submit representations, which will be considered during examination. The deadline for submitting representations is 11:59pm on 24 August 2026. All representations will be published on the Planning Inspectorate’s website.
You can view application documents, follow progress and find out how to make a representation on the Planning Inspectorate’s project page: https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/WA010002
Further information about the DCO process is available here: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/application-process/the-process
Further information on the Project can also be found here: https://www.southernwater.co.uk/about-us/our-plans/water-recycling/hampshire-water-transfer-and-water-recycling-project/
Our Spring 2025 Consultation
Our Spring 2025 Consultation ran from 5 March to 4 April 2025. We'd like to thank everyone for their feedback. We sought your views on updated environmental water quality information and proposed Project design refinements. Specifically, our Spring 2025 Consultation focused on:
- Predicted water quality impacts on the Havant Thicket Reservoir, connected downstream water bodies (including Riders Lane Stream, Hermitage Stream, and Langstone Harbour), and the Solent. Details of this can be found in our Environmental Water Quality Report.
- Proposed refinements to the design of the Project that take into account feedback from the Summer 2024 Consultation and on-going project development and stakeholder engagement, details of which can be found on our website and in the Consultation Information document.
Our Summer 2024 Consultation
Our Summer 2024 Consultation ran from 29 May to 23 July 2024. During this time, we actively sought feedback from community members on the following aspects of the Project:
- The Project overall
- The proposed pipeline routes
- The proposed water recycling plant and associated pumping stations
- The proposed sites for the above ground plant along the pipeline route
- The process we have undertaken to develop the Project up to this consultation
- The preliminary environmental and other impacts of the Project and initial proposals for mitigation.
The consultation was an opportunity to learn more about the Project and how it may affect you. We wanted to know what you thought about our proposals as we developed them further.
The consultation period ended at 11:59pm on July 23rd 2024. We'd like to thank everyone who came to one of our events, filled in a feedback form, or wrote us an email or letter.
Introduction to the project