Our Blueprint for Yorkshire Climate change strategy · minimising future climate change. It is imperative that we respond ... Shaping customer and stakeholder behaviour 22 A3:

December 2013

Our Blueprint for Yorkshire Climate change strategy

Enhancing resilience to weather and reducing carbon emissions

Climate Change Champion

“ Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia... Continued emissions of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and changes in all components of the climate system.”

UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 20131

There is overwhelming evidence that our climate is changing at an unprecedented rate. This is critical to us and our five million customers because our water and waste water services are heavily influenced by the weather. We are working to ensure we can affordably maintain and enhance our services in the changing climate. We are also cost-effectively reducing our carbon footprint to play our part in minimising future climate change. It is imperative that we respond to the challenges presented by climate change if we are to affordably meet our customers priorities and achieve our vision: taking responsibility for the water environment for good.

Improving the resilience of essential utilities makes good sense. Water and waste water customers across the UK have too often suffered the impacts of today’s variable and extreme weather. For instance, in 2012 the year started with drought and turned to widespread flooding in the second half of the year. Many homes were damaged across the UK in the floods of 2007, including here in Yorkshire. Recent cold winters interrupted water supplies when many parts of the UK saw pipes freeze and burst. There is overwhelming evidence that we will face more of these challenges as the climate changes. Across the UK there is evidence that water and waste water services need to become more resilient to the challenges from the weather of today and tomorrow.

In Yorkshire, we have maintained our water and waste water services throughout a range of recent extreme events. Our flexible water grid gives us one of the most resilient water services in the UK by enabling us to move water around our region. We are proud not to have implemented a hosepipe ban in our region since 1996.

Our customers have told us they want us to maintain service whatever the weather. Variable and extreme weather presents a high and increasing risk to our services, and causes unplanned financial costs and reputational damage. We are adapting our business by enhancing resilience to today’s extreme weather and ensuring we can maintain affordable services as the climate changes over the long-term.

To help mitigate the effects of future climate change we are supporting international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The large amounts of energy and resources we use to deliver our water and waste water services result in a substantial carbon footprint and financial cost. There are many pressures forcing growth in our emissions and we are working hard to reduce them, delivering an 8% reduction over the last two years. Our ability to achieve the Carbon Trust Standard is testament to our strong performance in this area. We have great scope to generate renewable electricity to reduce emissions, keep water bills low and support domestic energy resilience. We want to maximise the benefits we can offer society from our assets and infrastructure.

Having reviewed the latest evidence and assessed our climate change risks we published our climate change position paper in July 2012. I am now pleased to publish our climate change strategy having enhanced our risk understanding and integrated climate change thinking into our business planning. We look forward to working in partnership with our customers, government, regulators and many other stakeholders to minimise the cost and maximise the benefits as we deliver our climate change strategy to maintain affordable water and waste water services for our customers.

Richard Flint, Chief Executive of Yorkshire Water

Foreword

03 | Foreword

Contents

Using this document 05

Introduction and executive summary 07

The current and future climate 12

Part A: Communication and collaboration 14 A1: Securing customer, regulator and stakeholder support 16

A2: Shaping customer and stakeholder behaviour 22

A3: Supporting effective legislation and regulation 24

A4: Empowering our people and partners 26

Part B: Adaptation 28 B1: Maintaining excellent drinking water quality 30

B2: Ensuring sufficient water supplies 34

B3: Protecting people and the environment from sewer flooding 42

B4: Improving the environment 47

B5: Enhancing the resilience of our critical assets and services 50

B6: Keeping bills affordable 55

Part C: Mitigation 58 C1: Understanding our emissions 60

C2: Minimising emissions from our use of electricity 62

C3: Reducing our other operational emissions 68

C4: Managing our land with greenhouse gasses in mind 70

C5: Working in partnership with our supply chain 75

Glossary and References 77

Appendix 80 Appendix 1 – Strategic climate change risk register 81

Appendix 2 – Data and guidance used to develop our climate change strategy 92

Appendix 3 – Overview of expenditure to meet environmental quality obligations 94

04 | Contents

05 | Using this document

Choose the level of detail you wantThe main document is in three parts: Adaptation , Mitigation and Communication .

Each part includes sections on a priority topic of our climate change strategy. Each section is written to stand alone, starts with a summary box of key points and references further information where it is available.

Hear what our customers and stakeholders have to sayWe demonstrate our customers and stakeholders support for our plans. Quote boxes throughout the document provide an insight into the ‘customer and stakeholder voice’. We also provide an overview of customer and stakeholder views in section A1.

Understand our risks, current position and future targetsEach section includes a summary of the relevant risks from our strategic climate change risk register. This shows our assessment of the risk severity and likelihood (red, amber, green) at timescales through to the 2080s. A full summary of the register is in Appendix 1 . Each section also includes a ‘monitoring our progress’ box which describes the measures we are using to track our performance in delivering our strategy.

We have used arrows to indicate general trends in both our risk profile over time and our performance on the measures we have identified:

Using this document

This icon is a link to other sections within this document.

Getting better Getting worseLittle change

Important terminologyWeatherThe day-to-day temperature, rainfall and wind conditions.

ClimateThe average weather experienced over a period of time, usually 30 years.

Climate changeLong-term change to the average weather. In this context we mean the unprecedented rate of change to weather being observed in recent times.

Greenhouse gas and carbonA range of greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides contribute to climate change. Carbon is often used as shorthand to mean all greenhouse gasses.

AdaptationAction to prepare for climate change.

MitigationAction to reduce future climate change.

ResilienceThe ability to withstand a hazard.

Find more in the Glossary

We have designed this document to help you focus on the topics that interest you most.

We welcome your feedback and questionsTo discuss our climate change strategy please contact:Gordon Rogers Climate Change Strategy Manager T: 01274 804549 E: [email protected]

Introduction and executive summary | 6

“ Research is showing how human activity has changed the odds of certain extreme weather events or seasons happening. For example, human emissions of greenhouse gasses mean that the chances of experiencing a summer as hot as the European heatwave of 2003 were found to have at least doubled.” Met Office, 20132

Enjoying Yorkshire’s ‘Coast to Boast about’

We keep your bills as low as possible

We take care of your waste water and protect you and the

environment from sewer flooding

We provide the level of customer

service you expect and value

We make sure that you always have enough water

We provide you with water that is clean and safe to drink

We understand our impact on the wider environment and act responsibly

We protect and improve

the water environment

Introduction and executive summary

07 | Introduction and executive summary

Outcomes for Yorkshire

We are at the forefront of responding to climate change because our water and waste water services are heavily influenced by the weather. We already manage the impacts of today’s variable and extreme weather. Our risk assessment shows how such impacts will grow as climate change brings more severe weather events. Climate change is one of our biggest challenges and a long-term business priority.

Climate change threatens our ability to deliver the services our customers tell us they expect from us. We have worked with our customers to identify the priorities they want from us over the long-term. We call these our seven outcomes for Yorkshire.

Stakeholder voice

“ We support your integration of climate change and resilience measures across all weather dependant aspects of your Business Plan.”

Environment Agency, 20133

We assessed the latest evidence, opportunities and risks for our climate change position paper in July 2012. This is available on our website at yorkshirewater.com/climatechange . We made the following conclusions and commitments:

• The climate has been changing and will continue to change

• Climate change presents risks to our strategic objectives and the services we provide

• We will quantify the climate change risks that face our business

• We will develop long-term plans to manage climate change risks that face our business

• We will promote activities to address our climate change risks

• We will drive initiatives to empower every employee to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and prepare for the changing climate.

Since then we have made notable progress on our commitments by looking at our risks in detail. We are now pleased to publish our climate change strategy. Our strategy describes how we are working to affordably maintain and enhance our water and waste water services, and to cost-effectively reduce our carbon footprint.

The action we set out in our climate change strategy ensures we are effectively managing today’s risks and laying the necessary foundations to affordably maintain services for the long-term. It is imperative that we respond to the challenges presented by climate change if we are to affordably meet our customers priorities and achieve our vision: taking responsibility for the water environment for good.

A holistic strategy that is integrated in our Business PlanWe have integrated our climate change needs into our recently published Business Plan for the period 2015-2020. Our climate change strategy is in three parts that each have a number of sections which together tackle every aspect of our climate change challenge.

Climate change strategy

Adaptation Mitigation

Communication

Part A: Communication and collaboration

To secure the best results by working in partnership. This underpins every aspect of our approach to climate change because everyone has a role in ensuring water use is sustainable.

Section A1: Securing customer, regulator and stakeholder support is necessary because we are regulated to deliver defined levels of service at a cost customers are willing and able to pay. We have secured high levels of customer and stakeholder support for our Business Plan for 2015-2020. We think there is a need for mature national debate about how we most effectively fund the long-term customer expectations of the water and waste water industry.

Section A2: Shaping customer and stakeholder behaviour will minimise the scale of our climate change challenge. We are working to encourage sustainable behaviours on water consumption, waste disposal and land management.

Section A3: Supporting effective legislation and regulation will support more effective adaptation and mitigation. We observe opportunities and will continue to share our knowledge, evidence and ideas with policy makers.

Section A4: Empowering our people and partners to reduce GHG emissions and prepare for the changing climate, because everyone who works with us has an important role to play.

Part B: Adaptation

To affordably maintain and enhance services by improving resilience to today’s extreme weather and preparing for future climate change.

Section B1: Maintaining excellent drinking water quality is getting harder because of unsustainable land use practices and climate change. We are responding to imminent risks by enhancing our treatment works and operational activities. We are also working in partnership to tackle the issue at source through catchment management.

Section B2: Ensuring sufficient water supplies is at risk from drier conditions expected in the changing climate. This is our most mature area of current resilience and future planning. Our Water Resources Management Plan and Drought Plan set out the range of options we are using to manage emergencies, the long-term climate trends and other pressures.

Section B3: Protecting people and the environment from sewer flooding is a growing challenge because of heavier rainfall events and urban development. We work with other flood management authorities to ensure an integrated, cost-effective response to regional flooding issues. We are evolving our approach by using advanced hydraulic modelling and broadening our portfolio of potential response options to include Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) and modular designs.



Section B4: Improving the environment is a priority as healthy species and habitats are most able to resist climate change and other pressures. We continue to deliver improvements in river and coastal water quality by enhancing our waste water treatment capabilities. We also continue to restore large areas of our own land and work with others to protect their land.

Section B5: Enhancing the resilience of our critical assets and services to any hazard is an important part of our ability to maintain services in emergencies like extreme weather events. We have quantified the risk to our assets and services from hazards including drought, fluvial flooding and coastal erosion. In the short-term, we will enhance our resilience through a small number of priority interventions. We want to go further when the economic climate allows.

Section B6: Keeping bills affordable will be a challenge because we face many long-term cost pressures and anticipate that action will need to escalate over time in response to worsening climate change. In the short-term, to 2020, we and our customers have made some hard choices to manage today’s risks and prepare for the long-term while ensuring bills do not rise above inflation.

Part C: Mitigation

To cost-effectively reduce GHG emissions to play our part in minimising future climate change.

Section C1: Understanding our emissions is a precursor to their effective reduction. Water and waste water treatment and distribution activities are energy and emissions intensive. We have reduced our operational emissions by 8% over the last two years and our ability to secure the Carbon Trust Standard demonstrates our success in this area. Our emissions face increasing pressure from population growth and new legislative requirements.

Section C2: Minimising emissions from our use of electricity is a mitigation priority because it is our largest source of emissions. We have reduced our total electricity consumption by 5.3% since 2010/11. Our land and infrastructure could support a wide range of technically-feasible and cost-effective renewable generation activities. Our customers cannot afford the upfront capital cost in the current economic climate, so we are seeking alternative funding options. We would like stronger legislative and regulatory incentives to help us maximise the benefit we can provide society, for example an industry-specific emissions reduction target.

Section C3: Reducing our other operational emissions is important because nothing can be ignored if we are to meet the levels of reduction needed to effectively curb future climate change. We take action on every source of our emissions, including transport, fuels and those emissions released during our biological treatment processes.

Section C4: Managing our land with greenhouse gasses in mind is a critical part of our climate change strategy because we own large amounts of carbon-rich peat moorlands and woodland. We are working in partnership to improve the management of our own and other people’s land. We were pleased to support the Adaptation Sub-Committee (20134) in their recent work and support their three recommendations to government: “(i) set an explicit policy goal to increase the area under restoration, (ii) review the enforcement of current regulations, and (iii) improve incentives for landowners to invest in restoration”.

Section C5: Working in partnership with our supply chain to ensure emissions are effectively considered in the design and build of new assets and infrastructure, and in procurement of goods, materials and services.

Ramblers enjoying Yorkshire’s iconic moorlands

A risk based strategy to protect water and waste water servicesWe have sought a measured, proportionate and risk based approach to create a robust climate change strategy. Responding to government and regulatory expectation, we have completed a suite of detailed risk assessments and quantified our risk position in many of our priority areas. We have also assessed the range of options we can use to cost-effectively respond to our risks and reduce our carbon footprint.

We have provided an overview summary of our latest climate change risk assessment and response plans in Appendix 1 . This shows our risk position in four time-steps through to the 2080s. We have assessed our risks as we stand at the time of publication (Winter 2013) and our anticipated position after the delivery of the actions we have incorporated into our Business Plan (2020).

Our risk assessment and climate change strategy has used the latest and best available evidence, including the UK Climate Projections 2009 (UKCP09) and other credible information like the National Coastal Erosion Risk Maps (NCERM) and Environment Agency (EA) flood maps. This is supplemented by detailed local data on topography and the historic performance of our assets.

We have followed the latest national guidance, including the Cabinet Office resilience guide ‘Keeping the country running’ (20115) and the EA’s ‘Advice for flood and coastal erosion risk management authorities’ (20116). The Cabinet Office guide highlights a four box model of the ‘components for effective infrastructure resilience’. The model demonstrates that both investment and operational responses are needed to cost effectively deliver effective resilience. We have used this model to develop the weather resilience options within our strategy, ensuring action in all four components.

The Cabinet Office model for effective infrastructure resilience

ResistanceProtection to

withstand a hazard (e.g. a flood wall)

RedundancyDesign capacity into a system

(e.g. backup pumps)

ReliabilityThe ability of an asset to operate in a range

of conditions (e.g. asset design)

Response and recovery

Enabling fast and effective response to, and recovery from, an event

(e.g. emergency planning)

Infrastructure resilience

We have defined a series of principles to ensure the right approach throughout our climate change strategy and have ensured our principles align with those that others have described in a number of external publications, such as the Office of Water Services (Ofwat) ‘Principles for resilience planning’ (20127). Our underlying principles are summarised in three themes.

1. Using the best available evidence and methodologies

2. Balancing the needs of today and the long-term

3. Collaborating for the most effective result

We provide more details on the data, guidance and principles used to develop our strategy in Appendix 2 .

A resilient and sustainable strategyOur climate change strategy is a balanced one. It recognises the necessity and many benefits of cost-effective and targeted early action; using the best available evidence and continuing to develop our understanding; and, the ability and willingness of our customers to fund activities in the current economic climate. In each part of our strategy we explain the action we will take to affordably maintain and enhance our water and waste water services, and to cost-effectively reduce our carbon footprint.

We have planned in detail to 2020, to ensure we can act with certainty to manage imminent risks and lay necessary foundations for sustainable water and waste water services. We have also made provisional plans for the long-term and will periodically update our strategy to ensure our approach evolves with developing knowledge. On page 11 we have mapped our headline actions to the Cabinet Office four components for effective infrastructure resilience, as described above. A more detailed summary of our response to each of our climate change risks can be found in Appendix 1 .

A flexible strategy that will remain fit for the futureOur strategy will evolve over time because climate change is a long-term issue and knowledge continues to evolve rapidly, both internally and externally. We will use risk assessment based on the latest evidence, and external engagement, to inform the details of our future approach. We have already identified many potential future actions beyond our next Business Plan period which runs to 2020. We are not progressing these actions sooner because they were either not necessary yet, are unaffordable, received insufficient customer support and/or needed further knowledge to enable us to act with confidence. We will continue to assess our needs and consider these further actions. Many are likely to become a high priority in the future.

We have identified a series of measures that will help us monitor our priority risks over time. Tracking our performance will help us ensure our strategy is effectively supporting our ability to achieve the outcomes our customers expect from us. Details of these measures are provided in each section of this document.

To ensure effective planning and to inform debate we will maintain our strategy and regularly share information to remain transparent about our approach.



Our climate change strategy is ensuring effective infrastructure resilience

Resistance Protection to withstand a hazardReducing water demand to better withstand drought, for example by further reducing leakage and installing water meters.

Catchment management to protect raw water quality and reduce GHG emissions by helping habitats and species to withstand climate change and other pressures.

Improved protection of critical assets to maintain services despite extreme weather and coastal erosion. For example relocating Withernsea Waste Water Treatment Works.

Customer engagement to encourage water efficiency to help avoid shortages in dry periods, and promote sewer-friendly behaviours to avoid flooding.

Reducing GHG emissions to curb the impact of future climate change, for example through energy efficiency and renewable generation.

Reliability The ability of an asset to operate in a range of conditionsMaintenance to ensure assets are functioning as designed and ready for extreme weather.

Design standards to ensure new assets are built for the long-term. We keep our design standards and engineering specifications under regular review.

Increasing water supply options for times of peak demand. For example new water supply pipelines are a long-term option.

Innovation to increase our scope to respond to priority risks and opportunities. For example, advanced technologies to significantly increase the energy we can take from sewage. A storm water management strategy will investigate how we can best use Sustainable Drainage Solutions (SuDS) and other techniques.

Redundancy Designing capacity into a systemEnhancing water treatment capability to cope with deteriorating raw water quality in the changing climate. For example at Rivelin and Langsett Water Treatment Works.

Managing water network capacity to reduce the risk of supply interruption in extreme weather.

Enhancing waste water treatment capability to protect the environment ready for the pressures of climate change. For example, enhancing waste water treatment to reduce ammonia, Biological Oxygen Demand and phosphorus in discharges to river.

Managing sewer network capacity to reduce the risk of sewer flooding and pollution during periods of heavy rainfall. For example, protecting a further 400 properties at risk from sewer flooding by 2020.

Response and Recovery Enabling fast and effective response to, and recovery from, an eventEmergency planning and equipment to improve our readiness for the most extreme events. For example demountable flood defences and multi-agency training exercises.

Stakeholder engagement to ensure an efficient and effective approach to our region’s overall preparedness, for example, with Lead Local Flood Authorities, the EA and emergency responders.

Mutual aid agreement with other water companies to share resources in times of need.

Modelling and knowledge development to inform our future response. For example modelling our drainage network to help identify problems and solutions.

Insurance to support the costs of loss or damage we might incur as a result of extreme events.

There is compelling scientific agreement that the climate is changing at an unprecedented rate. The majority of evidence shows trends for gradual warming, changing precipitation patterns, sea level rise and more frequent, more severe extreme weather events. We provide an overview of the latest evidence below and provide more details on our website in our July 2012 climate change position paper, which is available at yorkshirewater.com/climatechange .

Climate change is already happeningThere is increasing evidence that greenhouse gas emissions have already influenced weather and climate over recent decades. For example:

• There is a clear trend of increasing global temperature from the late 1970s onwards (Met Office, 20108).

• The global average sea level has risen by between 10 cm and 20 cm during the past century. At North Shields the trend displays a rise throughout the 20th century of about 2 mm per year (National Oceanographic Centre9).

• Emissions significantly increased the chance of the heavy rainfall which led to the floods in the UK in Autumn 2000 (University of Oxford, 201110). The rainfall was the wettest recorded, with the river Ouse reaching its highest levels since the 1600s (Met Office11).

Further climate change is inevitable Even if emissions stopped today, the climate would change for at least the next 40 years due to those emissions already released (Acclimatise and UKCIP, 200612). The 2009 UK climate projections (UKCP09) are the best evidence for practitioners in the UK. This shows that levels of climate change will increase in severity through the 21st century:

Changing precipitation patterns

• Precipitation will become more seasonal, with an increase expected in winter and a decrease in summer.

• Dry spells will increase in frequency.

• Rainfall events will get heavier and/or longer.

Rising sea levels

• Sea levels will rise by up to 25 cm by 2030 and 41 cm by 2050 on the Yorkshire coast (95 percentile, high emissions scenario).

Warmer temperatures, but maybe colder winters

• Both summer and winter temperatures will increase.

• Heatwaves will become more frequent.

• Sub-zero temperatures decrease in frequency in the UKCP09. However, more recent research has found that progressive shrinking of Arctic Sea ice is bringing colder, snowier winters to the UK, Europe, North America and China (Georgia Institute of Technology and Beijing Institute of Atmospheric Physics, 201213). This confirms the science continues to evolve rapidly on the detail of the expected change, but there is little doubt that change is happening faster than ever seen before over recent millennia.

The current and future climate

12 | The current and future climate

Making the most of every drop of Yorkshire’s precious water resource

“ Continued emissions of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and changes in all components of the climate system... the contrast in precipitation between wet and dry regions and between wet and dry seasons will increase...”

UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 20131

Part A: Communication and collaboration

Working in partnership to deliver the most effective response to climate change

IntroductionCommunication and collaboration underpins every aspect of our climate change strategy because everyone has a role to play in the future of water: customers, the government, regulators, our delivery partners and many other stakeholders. We cannot effectively respond to climate change in isolation. To deliver the biggest benefits for society and the most cost-effective approach we need to listen, be heard, and work with others. Over the following pages we examine each of the following communication topics, describing our recent performance and future plans:

A1: Securing customer, regulator and stakeholder support is essential as we are regulated to deliver services to the standards that our customers expect, at a cost they are willing and able to pay.

A2: Shaping customer and stakeholder behaviour plays a critical role in determining the scale of the challenge, for example water consumers help determine the volume of water needed and land managers influence water quality.

A3: Supporting effective legislation and regulation is necessary to ensure we and others are appropriately supported and bound to meet the needs of society.

A4: Empowering our people because everyone has a role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing for the changing climate.

Further details and examples of our communication, collaboration and partnership are provided throughout the Adaptation and Mitigation parts of this document. There are also specific sections on how we work with our supply chain to ensure resilience (section B5 ) and low-carbon purchases and capital investment (section C5 ).

Spreading the water efficiency message

15 | Part A: Communication and collaboration


A1: Securing customer, regulator and stakeholder support

Section summary• The Water Industry’s economic regulator, the Office

of Water Services (Ofwat), determines price limits every five years. To inform this process we submit a Business Plan of the activities we will undertake to maintain and enhance services, and the associated costs. We submitted our plan for the period 2015-2020 to Ofwat in December 2013. We have integrated climate change throughout our plan in line with guidance from the government, Ofwat and others.

• We have demonstrated customer and stakeholder support for our plan. We provide an overview of our customer research in this section, with further insight throughout the document in quotation boxes titled ‘customer and stakeholder voice’.

• We recognise the potential for future conflict. Climate change is likely to increase operating costs and our customers tell us they expect us to maintain and enhance services, but many cannot or do not want to pay more. We think there is a need for mature national debate about how we most effectively fund the long-term customer expectations of the water and waste water industry.

Main climate change risks being addressed (full details in Appendix 1 )

Risk title Trend2013: As we stand today 2020: After our next

round of risk mitigationRisk

understanding

2013 2030s 2050s 2080s 2020 2030s 2050s 2080s 2012 2013

B1: Inability to secure approval Med Med

High risk Low riskMedium risk

Outcomes being supported We provide you with water that is clean and safe to drink


We take care of your waste water and protect you and the environment from sewer flooding

We provide the level of customer service you expect and value

Progress measure for this theme of action Measure: Percentage of customers that support our strategic Business PlanCurrent performance: 76% of domestic and 85% of business customers (2013/14)Future target: To maintain or enhance levels of support

Sharing information through our website

Hilary Benn MP and young customers at our education centre in Bradford

A1.1: Securing support from the government and our regulatorsThe UK water industry is closely regulated to protect society’s interests. At the heart of the regulatory framework is a five yearly Price Review process that requires water companies to produce Business Plans detailing how they will achieve their legal requirements and customers’ expectations. In producing these plans, water companies consult with customers to determine the levels of service they expect and are willing and able to fund. Plans must also be based on risk assessment and robust evidence. The plans are submitted to the industry’s economic regulator, Ofwat, to determine limits on customer prices. Through these controls and requirements, the Price Review plays a fundamental role in shaping our approach to climate change.

Other regulators have essential roles in defining our Business Plan, including the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), Environment Agency (EA), and Natural England (NE). Our regulators work within a legal and policy framework set by the government, particularly the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). All of these organisations have expressed the need for the water industry to recognise the growing pressures from climate change and ensure an appropriate response.

We believe the Price Review process supports an effective approach to climate change by enabling an adaptive ‘check and re-align’ approach every five years and using robust risk and evidence based decision making. It helps the industry and its regulators to manage future uncertainties, including those inherent in planning for the future climate. We cannot allow uncertainty to become a barrier to necessary adaptation and mitigation activities because inaction itself would be a growing risk and there are firm expectations for the industry to enhance resilience to weather and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

We have integrated climate change factors into weather-dependant decisions throughout our Business Plan and we have identified cost-effective steps to contribute to government GHG targets. We describe overleaf how we have confirmed support for our Business Plan from our customers and stakeholders through extensive engagement and consultation. In December 2013, water companies submitted their Business Plans to Ofwat for the upcoming period from 2015-2020. These plans and the associated customer prices will be ‘determined’ by Ofwat during 2014/15. If the determination process results in any substantial change to our Business Plan we will reassess our ability to manage climate change risks in the short-term to 2020.

Stakeholder voice

“ Water companies are expected to plan for mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change over the next decades.”

Defra, 201214

Our Catchment Manager working with the Head Gamekeeper of the Bolton Abbey Estate


A1.2: Securing support from our customers and stakeholdersThe views and support of our customers is essential to our climate change strategy. This is for three main reasons:

1. Customers fund our activities, so it is right and fair that they have a strong voice in shaping our plans.

2. Regulation requires us to deliver services to the standards that our customers expect and are willing and able to fund.

3. Customer and stakeholder behaviours help determine the scale of our climate change impact and response needs.

We have undertaken a range of consultation and engagement exercises with customers to understand their priorities, hear their feedback on our Business Plan, and test their support. We have carried out independent customer research with 6,700 domestic customers from a mix of backgrounds and 1,700 business customers. This research included a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods that meet best practice standards and which ensure the results are statistically representative of our diverse customer base. We have also reached nearly two million of our customers about our Business Plan at roadshows and through a specially designed interactive website.

We have worked closely with our Customer Forum throughout our business planning process. The Forum is independently chaired and includes representatives from a range of interest groups including the CCW, Age Concern and our environmental regulators. In addition we have also engaged with a wide range of stakeholders, including charities, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), regulators and representative bodies such as our independent Environmental Advisory Panel (EAP). We have also reviewed customer research carried out by Defra and Ofwat.

A summary of our customers’ views on climate change and our Business Plan is provided below. Throughout the document we provide insight into the perspective of customers, the government, regulators and other stakeholders in quotation boxes. Further details on our customer communication and research can be found on our website at blueprintforyorkshire.com .

The majority of our customers accept that climate change is a reality

Latest research by us and others finds that the majority of people surveyed agree climate change is happening and that this presents important risks to the UK. However, many remain poorly informed of the evidence and there is a sizeable minority who are sceptical, especially about linking human activity to climate change. Customers voice confusion over the conflict between theory for hotter, drier summers and recent trends for cold and wet weather.

Here’s how a range of our customers ranked the most important environmental issues:

1. Increasing population

2. Waste/landfill sites

3. Energy consumption

4. Climate change & greenhouse gasses

5. Wildlife habitat destruction

6. Pollution

7. Water shortages (Our research, 201216)

Over 60% agreed that “climate change is definitely happening” and are “concerned about the effects”. (Our research, 201217).

Nationally, “the majority of participants felt that in their lifetimes they had experienced long-term changes in the UK weather (80%) and over two-thirds (69%) agreed that the UK would experience more extreme weather events by 2050.” (Defra, 201318).

Stakeholder voice

“ Principle 1: Water companies should deliver outcomes that customers and society value, at a price they are willing to pay.”

Ofwat, 201115

Customer voice

“ You can see there is going to be a major problem.”

“ I’d welcome drier summers to end this rain we’ve been having.”

Domestic customers from Leeds and Bridlington, 201216


Helping customers at our contact centre

Customers are confident in current and future water services

Our research studies have found overwhelming customer trust in the water service they receive. As a result of the high levels of confidence, most do not give their water service a second thought until there is a problem. There was also high confidence that the service will continue into the future, although we found some signs of concern. A survey of approximately 1,500 people, including 500 from Yorkshire, found:

• Less than 20% agreed that “Water is a diminishing and precious resource and I am very concerned about water availability in the future in the UK.”

• Approximately 55% agreed that “Water always seems to be there although I do sometimes worry that it may run out in the future in the UK.”

• Over 90% trusted their water company to invest in infrastructure, environment and future water supplies. (Our research, 201217).

Customers expect us to maintain and enhance services, but many cannot or will not pay more

Our customers are clear they do not want any reduction in service, even where this could deliver cheaper bills. There is also a clear expectation that water companies should continue to improve services. We have worked with our customers to identify the priorities they want from us over the long-term. We call these our seven outcomes for Yorkshire and they are:

We provide you with water that is clean and

safe to drink


We take care of your waste water and protect you and the environment

from sewer flooding


We protect and improve

the water environment

We make sure that you always have

enough water


There was a variety of customer opinions about how willing they were to pay to meet their expectations for maintained and enhanced services. They demonstrated a lower willingness to pay for service improvement than when last assessed five years ago. The recognition that water bills offer the greatest value of all household bills is balanced by a real concern about affordability. Managing the conflict between customer expectation and their ability and willingness to pay presents us with a challenge. We have sought to balance customer needs and expectations, operational performance, risk and our ability to finance our business.

• “With very few exceptions, participants were unwilling to consider reduced water and sewerage services. While more frequent hosepipe bans might be acceptable to most customers, any reduction to the core service…would be unacceptable” (Ofwat, 201120).

• “There is public support for the UK to invest in preparations to adapt to climate change. Public uncertainty over the existence or the causes of climate change does not negate this support…Nearly all workshop participants believed that the UK should take a precautionary approach...” (Defra, 201318).

• Less than 20% of respondents agreed “I would be willing to pay 5% extra to a water company which is investing to safeguard future supplies of water” (Our research, 201217).

• “Most baulked at the idea of paying ‘significantly more’ in the future and expressed a preference (often spontaneously) for starting to pay smaller amounts now in order for water companies to be able to begin to put measures in place and thereby avoid the need for more drastic increases in bills in the future” (Ofwat, 201120).

• 24% of Yorkshire households are in water poverty today and this is forecast to rise if we do not act. Water poverty is defined as the proportion of households that spend more than 3% of their disposable income (after housing costs) on water and sewerage bills. (Our research, 201217).

Customer voice

“ I would be horrified if we went backwards in terms of quality standards.”

Domestic customer from Skipton, 201219


Customers support our Business Plan

We have listened to our customers and incorporated their priorities into our Business Plan. We have targeted action where there is legal requirement or strong cost-benefit and customer support. Our approach manages current risks and lays the foundations for an effective, proportionate long-term approach to climate change while ensuring bills do not rise above inflation. Our approach will inevitably evolve over time as knowledge develops.

Overall, 76% of domestic customers and 86% of business customers who were surveyed support our final Business Plan. This averages at 77% of all customers. We asked our customers if they would like to go further in some areas, including renewable energy and fluvial flood resilience. Many of our customers could not support such work in the current economic climate and we are therefore not including these programmes in our final plan for 2015-2020. Instead we will seek alternative ways to fund these important activities, as we discuss in more detail in section B5 and section C2 (Our research, 201323).

A1.3: Future plans for customer and stakeholder engagementCustomer and stakeholder support is essential to the success of our long-term climate change strategy, and consequently to our ability to deliver the services our customers desire from us. The costs of maintaining services in the changing climate could be large in the long-term. Equally, we know from experience that the cost of extreme weather events is already significant and the cost of GHG emissions is set to rise (DECC, 201324). To inform debate and encourage future support we will continue to communicate with our customers and stakeholders. We will do this through customer research, engagement with customer and stakeholder representative groups, and involvement in regional and national events. We will also seek to engage directly with our customers through communication campaigns and by providing information on our website and through social media (see section A2 ). We are integrating climate change throughout our standard communication activities.

Stakeholder voice

“ ...collectively the EAP members are both sympathetic to, and are supportive of, the company’s approach to current economic and water environment challenges. In particular the EAP liked the following:

• Our commitment to the long-term future of the water environment.

• Our overt commitment to working in collaborative partnerships to solve shared challenges.

• The recognition of the challenges arising from climate change...”

David Stewart, Chair of the Environmental Advisory Panel, 201321


Finding new ways to communicate through our new mobile app

Customer voice

“ Our view would be that you have a clear mandate from the customer base to proceed with the current plan and that no further research is necessary. We will commend the approach you have taken.”

Andrea Cook, Chair of the Customer Forum, 201322

Our Biodiversity Advisor tells customers about our new fish pass at Rodley in Leeds


A2: Shaping customer and stakeholder behaviour

Section summary• Customer and stakeholder behaviours can help or

hinder our response to climate change and thereby our ability to deliver the services our customers desire from us. For example, playing an important role in the future volume of water required and the quality of water available.

• By working in partnership we can reduce the scale of our climate change challenge and deliver many other benefits.

• We will encourage behavioural change through a range of approaches, including media campaigns.




understanding

2013 2030s 2050s 2080s 2020 2030s 2050s 2080s 2012 2013

WQ1: Land management Low Med

WR1: Demand exceeds supply Med High

WR2: Demand exceeds distribution

Low Med

WW1: Overloaded sewers cause flooding

Med Med

WW2: Overloaded sewers cause pollution

Med Med

E3: Greenhouse gas emissions N/A High

B1 Inability to secure approval Med Med






Progress measure for this theme of action Measure: Water efficiency (litres per household)Current performance: Reducing average household use by 1 litre per day each yearFuture target: Continue to reduce average household use by 1 litre per day each year

We believe everyone has a role to play in managing water for the future, and many of our customers and stakeholders agree. People’s behaviours can help or hinder our response to climate change so this is an important part of our strategy, for example:

• The amount of water customers use directly affects the scale of our operations and the environmental impact we have, as does our own water use for things like cleaning pipes.

• Items such as fats, oils, wipes and nappies can reduce sewer capacity and contribute to flooding and pollution.

• Land management practices can result in water pollution through soil erosion and use of pesticides.

Many things can be done by working in partnership to minimise these issues and thereby reduce the scale of our climate change challenge. These will also achieve many other benefits. For example, we can use less water, find more effective disposal routes for problem wastes and manage land in ways that prevent erosion and chemical run-off.

We have experience in many of these areas, including award-winning campaigns such as ‘Doing the Dirty’, and industry-leading engagement and partnerships with landowners. We use data and research to help focus engagement resources on hot spot locations. We also tailor the media type to target socio-economic groups. For example, we increase our sewer behaviour advertising in areas showing the most sewer blockages caused by fats, oils and grease, or we might focus on social media to target a younger audience.

We have found that an effective approach requires long-term messaging delivered through a variety of media. Our goal is to encourage our customers to think about the services they so often use without a second thought. In doing so our customers are helping us to meet the ultimate service outcomes they expect of us. We plan to make the most of every customer contact, whether in the media, while visiting our recreational sites or liaising directly with our staff. Our future plans will continue with our tried and tested techniques such as leaflets, information boards, education centres and advertising campaigns. We will also further our use of social media and consider innovative approaches to engagement campaigns.

Our plans to inform and encourage more sustainable consumer behaviours include:

• Sharing information through targeted campaigns using a variety of traditional and social media.

• Providing key messages in customer contact information such as bills, letters and on our website.

• Talking directly with interested customers and stakeholders at community groups and regional events.

• Reporting our performance against targets on key issues like leakage and partnership working.

• Researching customer behaviours and the effectiveness of our campaigns. For example, we are installing water meters on virtually every property in one community so that we can develop a much more detailed understanding of water-use patterns.

• Using our legal powers where necessary to hold people and businesses to account and set clear expectations, for example in trade effluent licencing.

More information on our latest engagement campaigns can be found at yorkshirewater.com .

Customer voice

“ I believe we are all accountable and together we can make a difference.”

“ We all have a responsibility not to waste water. Customers should not waste water by...leaving taps running, making sure dishwashers and washing machines have full loads, taking showers instead of baths.”

Domestic customers, 201219

Learning about the water treatment process

Providing free and easy ways for customers to save water



A3: Supporting effective legislation and regulation

Section summary• Effective national policy is essential to the success

of our climate change strategy because we are supported and bound by a wide range of legislation and regulation that shapes the nature and pace of our approach to climate change.

• We will continue to support policy makers with our knowledge and evidence to help shape effective legislation and regulation.

• We have identified a number of opportunities where enhanced legislation and regulation would support a more effective response to climate change.




understanding

2013 2030s 2050s 2080s 2020 2030s 2050s 2080s 2012 2013



Med Med


CS1: Flooding of our assets Med Med

CS12: Resilient supply chain, including grid electricity

Low Low

CS13: Resilient self-generated energy

Low Low








Progress measure for this theme of action Measure: Proportion of relevant consultation responsesCurrent performance: Responding to all relevant consultationsFuture target: Continuing to respond to all relevant consultations

The UK water and waste water industry is closely regulated. The industry has to comply with, and can make use of, a wide range of legislation and regulation that shapes the nature of our approach to climate change by:

• Setting minimum standards for customer service, water and waste water quality, as well as many other aspects of our activities. These standards set minimum levels of resilience.

• Providing legal duties and powers so that we and others can protect our customers’ wellbeing, the environment and essential infrastructure. For example, by playing our part in local and regional planning.

• Offering incentives for priority activities, such as greenhouse gas emissions reduction, energy generation and water resource management.

Water industry legislation and regulation continues to evolve to meet the changing needs of society. Our successful adaptation and mitigation will require effective legislation and regulation. We have a long history of supporting policy makers by providing evidence, expertise and knowledge. We will continue to support them, both through direct engagement and indirectly through our industry body, Water UK.

We believe there are opportunities to support a more effective approach to climate change through enhanced legislation and regulation:

National debate on customers’ ability and willingness to pay to ensure future levels of service beyond 2020. We think there is a need for the government, Ofwat and the water companies to work together to lead a mature national debate about how we most effectively fund the long-term customer expectations of the water and waste water industry.

Regulating minimum weather resilience standards for infrastructure and services would secure the protection of today’s essential services and lay strong foundations for the future, both in water and other interdependent sectors. For example, legislating for the 1:200 rainfall event and other standards outlined in the Cabinet Office guide Keeping the Country Running (20115).

Managed flexibility in environmental water quality standards would support more sustainable approaches that better balance the needs of the aquatic and atmospheric environments. Modern technology might enable effluent discharges to be managed in real-time according to the state of the receiving environment. Treating to higher standards in low flows and/or more relaxed standards in high flows can enable treatment optimisation to save energy and chemicals while assuring overall water quality and supporting customer affordability. We have been developing an innovative approach in partnership with the Environment Agency and others. We call this rtRIVERi. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss our research and the practicalities of implementation.

Stronger incentives for resilient, low-carbon energy generation would enable us to play a greater role in using our infrastructure and resources for the maximum benefit of society. For example, statutory industry targets and/or increased financial support would enable us to deliver a wide range of renewable generation schemes which we have assessed as feasible and cost-effective. While these schemes will reduce bills in the long-term, our customers find themselves unable to support the necessary upfront capital investment in the current economic climate.

Stronger and clearer long-term carbon pricing would support the pace and scope of our carbon-reduction activities by informing our cost-benefit assessments. For example, the existing incentives of the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) and Climate Change Levy (CCL) could be merged into one stronger price signal with long-term price setting published by the government. There is also an opportunity to reduce the current administrative burden of the CRC, even in its simplified form, by collecting tax revenue through energy bills, as is the case with CCL currently.

Peat moorland restoration can be enhanced through enforcement of existing legislation and stronger incentives. We support the Adaptation Sub-Committee’s three recommendations to the government in their recent annual progress report: “(i) set an explicit policy goal to increase the area under restoration, (ii) review the enforcement of current regulations, and (iii) improve incentives for landowners to invest in restoration” (Adaptation Sub-Committee, 20134).

Discussing catchment management with policy makers like the then Minister for Water, Richard Benyon



A4: Empowering our people and partners

Section summary• Everyone who works with us has a role to play in our

response to climate change. We are empowering every employee to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and prepare for the changing climate.

• We are embedding the necessary culture through a number of activities, including our ‘CO2llaborate to use less’ campaign and through revision to our policies and procedures.




understanding

2013 2030s 2050s 2080s 2020 2030s 2050s 2080s 2012 2013


B2: Affordability Low Low


Outcomes being supported We understand our impact on the wider environment and act responsibly



Progress measure for this theme of action Measure: Number of colleagues ‘Co2llaborate’ trained.Current performance: Over 900 have received high level training and 100 have had detailed training.Future target: 3,400 to receive high level training by April 2014 and 600 to receive detailed

training by April 2015.

A newly installed energy efficient pump

Using technology to allow remote, efficient working

Everyone who works for us has a role to play in our response to climate change. We made a commitment in our July 2012 climate change position paper to “drive initiatives to empower every employee to reduce carbon emissions and prepare for the changing climate”. We are doing this by embedding the necessary culture across our business through a range of activities. Changing culture is not a quick or easy task so we plan for a long-term evolutionary approach. We provide below some examples of current and planned work in this area.

At the heart of our approach to cultural change is our ‘CO2llaborate to use less’ campaign. This is a bespoke programme to encourage sustainable thinking in everything we do. We started this campaign in 2012 knowing that it would evolve over time. To date, we have focused on the priority areas of energy consumption and GHG emissions. The campaign started by raising awareness and engaging our people on the nature and scale of our energy and carbon challenge. We are now in the second phase which involves company-wide training. This is delivering an environmental awareness e-learning course to all employees, as well as a package of more detailed modules for approximately 600 specialist staff who are in those roles that have highest impact on our energy and emissions. Our CO2llaborate programme is generating ideas, building advocacy and delivering energy management improvement.

In addition to our engagement campaign, we are also ensuring effective governance processes to support the development and delivery of our climate change strategy.

This has included a variety of activities and plans to date, including establishing a cross-business climate change co-ordination and strategy group in 2011 and integrating climate change into our corporate risk management and reporting systems.

We will continue to evolve our training and engagement activities and we plan to extend it to our delivery and supply partners. We will also continue to embed climate change into our policies, procedures and design standards to ensure it is considered ‘business as usual’.

to use less

A colleague stands proudly with an innovative energy generation research trial


Part B: Adaptation

Preparing for climate change and enhancing resilience to extreme weather

IntroductionOur customers, regulators and stakeholders have made it clear that it is a top priority to maintain and enhance water and waste water services. Climate change threatens our ability to meet expectations. We recognise the magnitude of the potential challenge, having reviewed the best available evidence and assessed the risks. Many of our climate change risks are already being managed at the local level and we expect these to grow over time if we do not act. Over the following pages we describe our plans to ensure the long-term weather and climate resilience of our services.

B1: Maintaining excellent drinking water quality is at risk from existing and changing land management practices. We have a twin-track response to today’s immediate problems and the long-term trend.

B2: Ensuring sufficient water supplies will be challenged by an increasing deficit in our supply and demand balance, caused primarily by the changing climate. Our 25 year Water Resource Management Plan includes a broad range of measures that can be implemented over time to fill the gap.

B3: Protecting people and the environment from sewer flooding is a critical service that is under threat from more frequent extreme rainfall. We are working to include the long-term risks in our drainage area models and ensure sustainable drainage management through a portfolio of traditional and new approaches like modular design and Sustainable Drainage Solutions (SuDS).

B4: Improving the environment by enhancing our waste water treatment processes and working in partnership to protect the land and aquatic environment. Maximising the health of habitats and species will help them resist the changing climate to the best of their ability.

B5: Enhancing the resilience of our critical assets and services to extreme weather and coastal erosion. We have assessed the risks and identified a range of actions we need to take. We will be addressing an immediate risk from coastal erosion to a number of our assets.

B6: Keeping bills affordable is and will continue to be a challenge if we are to respond effectively to climate change. In line with our customers’ expectations, we have prioritised the most essential activities in our plans to 2020 to ensure bills do not rise above inflation.

Stakeholder voice

“ Our research shows that consumers continue to place the highest importance on delivering safe and reliable water and sewerage services. So, their resilience remains a key priority, particularly as the issue is likely to become an even greater concern in the future.”

Ofwat, 201025

We’re working with farmers to adapt land management practices to protect water quality and the natural environment

29 | Part B: Adaptation


B1: Maintaining excellent drinking water quality

Section summary• Climate change presents strategic risks to our ability

to provide clean and safe drinking water. The priority risk is from land use practices that result in pollution from pesticides or make peat vulnerable to erosion which causes discolouration of water. This is already a problem today and is expected to worsen in the changing climate if we do not act.

• We will continue to further our knowledge through monitoring and research, to inform our future approach.

• We have a twin-track approach that is protecting customers’ drinking water:

– Catchment management provides the long-term solution by working in partnership to tackle problems at source.

– Our drinking water quality programme ensures today’s supplies are clean and safe by enhancing treatment works and operational and maintenance activities.




understanding

2013 2030s 2050s 2080s 2020 2030s 2050s 2080s 2012 2013


WQ2: Rainfall impacts raw water quality

Low Med

WQ3: Salinisation of water resources Low Low

WQ4: Water borne diseases Low Low

WR4: Reservoir siltation Low Med

WE1: Biodiversity Low Med




We protect and improve the water environment


Progress measure for this theme of action Measure: Long-term stability and reliability factor: Treated water qualityCurrent performance: Stable (2014/15)Future target: Stable (2019/20)


Climate change presents a number of risks to our ability to deliver clean, and safe drinking water. As can be seen from the risk scores, the priority risk in this group is from land management practices causing pollution of the water we abstract from the environment for treatment and supply. This is a complex area with multiple factors affecting land and how it is managed. This includes for example: reform of subsidies made under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), global markets, pests and diseases, traditions and new technologies.

Over the past two decades, raw water quality has deteriorated in many of our catchments. The more polluted raw water is, the more we need to treat it to make it fit for drinking. Extra treatment has financial, energy and emissions implications. This risk is a climate adaptation concern for two main reasons:

• Over-grazing, drainage, burning and other practices can leave bare peat and soil susceptible to erosion and therefore vulnerable to extreme weather. These practices also introduce air into the peat, allowing bacteria to break it down to form colour in water. Colour is removed through intense treatment processes to make it suitable for human supply. Healthy, vegetated peats and soils are more resilient to erosion, helping avoid water colour.

• The use of fertilisers and pesticides is likely to change as farming practices respond to climate change and other factors. For example, the amount of land being sown for Winter Oil Seed Rape has increased over recent years. This explains to some degree why we are seeing elevated levels of metaldehyde in the raw waters during Autumn because Oil Seed Rape farming uses metaldehyde pellets for slug control.

We ensure our customers receive high quality drinking water despite deteriorating raw water quality through our twin-track approach. Catchment management is our primary long-term response, recognising that the issue needs to be addressed at source. Catchment management can take 10 to 15 years for the activities to have a benefit. In the short-term, we also need to enhance Water Treatment Works (WTW) capability, because the probability of failure presents an unacceptable risk to our customers. This twin-track approach is appropriate when considering future climate change because it balances the immediate need for absolute certainty in the quality of drinking water with the long-term goal for a flexible, low-carbon, sustainable solution. Below, we look at recent performance and future plans for the two elements of our twin track approach. We also describe our plans for future research to continue developing our knowledge.

The climate mitigation aspects to land management are covered in section C4 and the biodiversity aspects are covered in section B4 .

In our Drinking Water Safety Plans we observe significant risks to our customers that can be influenced by the weather and climate, from:

• Disinfection by-products (particularly trihalomethanes)

• Cryptosporidium

• Pesticides (particularly metaldehyde)

• Other substances and organisms.

Customer voice

“ I don’t think water is negotiable. It has got to be clean, healthy and there when you want it.”

Domestic customer from Hull, 201326

We’re investing to treat deteriorating raw water quality like these high colour levels caused by peat erosion in Nidderdale


B1.1 Investing in catchment management to protect water qualityWe have been addressing the root causes of poor water quality for over ten years in order to provide an alternative to costly investment in extra water treatment capabilities. We have done this by investing in extensive monitoring, research and innovative land maintenance and restoration techniques. Through multi-agency partnerships we have delivered a range of industry-leading activities, including for example:

• Working with our land tenants and Natural England on Keighley Moor to deliver catchment restoration in practice. This has formed the basis of an Ecosystem Services valuation, published by Natural England.

• Working with, and funding, Moors for the Future to improve 114 km2 of blanket bog owned by us and 10 km2 of land owned by the National Trust.

• Working with and funding the Yorkshire Peat Partnership to restore 10 km2 of peat moorlands in the Upper Nidderdale.

• Working with national experts such as Durham and Leeds Universities on an extensive programme of research. We have evidenced how the management of moorland catchments can positively or negatively impact peat erosion and the subsequent colour-related issues this causes in water, as well as wider opportunities and risks such as to biodiversity, recreation, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Peat moorlands are particularly important in our region because they are the source catchments for a large proportion of our drinking water. Our research with Leeds University (201227) concluded that the climate will not be suitable for peat moorlands within Yorkshire by 2050 under the 2009 UK climate projections ‘high emissions scenario’, and by 2080 under the ‘low emissions scenario’. That does not mean that the peat moorlands in the region will disappear, it indicates they may become more prone to erosion and have the potential to cause large water quality problems in the future. The review found that management interventions can be effective but are likely to take a number of years for the benefits to be manifested. Rewetting the peat, holding back sediment and encouraging moss-forming Sphagnum-rich surfaces will, in the long-term, add resilience to the peat system, reducing and delaying problems caused by climate change. It is also highly likely that wet, Sphagnum-rich peat moorlands will be more resilient to wildfire than peats dominated by shrubby vegetation and lower water tables.

Our catchment management programme covers a range of water quality parameters including colour, pesticides, nitrates and saline intrusion on reservoir, river and borehole sources. We are focusing our future moorland restoration activity on catchments where colour pollution is likely to overwhelm WTW capacity in the longer term. Our programme covers both implementation and investigations. Our activities will be delivered in partnership with a range of charities, landowners, regulatory agencies and other stakeholders where this is mutually beneficial. In addition to protection of water quality, our moorland management schemes will also deliver a wide range of other benefits to our customers and wider society, including climate change mitigation, climate adaptation and biodiversity.

We plan to focus in the following areas up to 2020:

• Embsay moor.

• The moors above Roundhill and Leighton reservoirs.

• North Yorkshire moors.

• Coverdale, Wensleydale and other areas, working with the Yorkshire Peat Partnership.

• Hallam and Derwent moors, working with Severn Trent Water.

We will seek to work in partnership in the Wiske sub-catchment, a tributary of the River Ouse that supplies York. We will look to identify the sources of excess metaldehyde and high levels of phosphate by developing an integrated land management plan. The plan will also explore land management options to reduce the pollutants while ensuring the landowner is not financially compromised. For example, the introduction of woodland or other buffer strips or other innovative solutions. We will also investigate a Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) approach that could involve paying farmers to use better quality metaldehyde pellets or more sustainable alternatives.

Our approach will replicate and expand on recent work that has demonstrated the amount of land brought into agricultural production has increased over the last 12 years, and the amount of land being sown for Winter Oil Seed Rape has also significantly increased. This explains to some degree why we are seeing elevated levels of metaldehyde in the raw waters during Autumn because this farming practice typically uses metaldehyde pellets.

We also outline below a number of planned investigations that will help us develop knowledge to inform our future catchment approaches.

B1.2 Developing our knowledgeNitrate and other pollutants present risks to a number of our groundwater sources. In the past, we have applied treatment solutions to ensure water quality requirements. In-line with our catchment based approach, we need to understand the source of these problems to determine the sustainable long-term response. With only limited information on this topic, the first step is to understand the problem to allow implementation of effective and targeted solutions. We will carry out a range of land management research and investigations to help inform our future approach to groundwater protection. Projects we are planning include, for example:

Identifying sources of nitrate pollution in groundwater

Working in partnership with landowners to investigate the sources of nitrate in groundwater through monitoring, sampling and analysis. The project will consider the age and residence time of the nitrate in groundwater to help inform effective response plans. We will focus on groundwater that is abstracted from one representative source in the Chalk aquifer and one in the Sherwood Sandstone.

The impact of climate change on crop growth and associated use of fertiliser/pesticide

Investigating and modelling the likely changes in cropping and how we as a water supplier might influence this to prevent adverse effects on groundwater from use of fertilisers and pesticides; or if appropriate, surface water.

Hydrogeological investigation into sources of water to inform future land management

Building on existing work to improve understanding of how rainfall travels into the groundwater and ultimately reaches our water sources. This is likely to include tracer studies, source protection zone delineation and detailed geological mapping.

Saline intrusion in Hull

We will investigate the saline front in the Chalk aquifer under Hull to inform our risk understanding and response needs. The Chalk groundwater body has been assessed as ‘poor’ status under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and is a problem for industrial and public water supply abstractions. Our source is outside the affected area but there is a risk the saline front could move inland if large abstraction is needed to maintain supplies during a drought. If our borehole supply becomes contaminated, we could lose this water source. Sampling over time will determine the dynamics of the saline intrusion and help to quantify the risk.

B1.3 Investing in drinking water treatment to protect water qualityWe increase treatment capabilities where we have identified a risk to customers from deteriorating raw water quality. We also maintain existing infrastructure and operations. The quality of water we have delivered to our customers has been of a very high standard, with over 99.9% of thousands of samples meeting tight regulatory standards each year. To maintain this high level of performance, we have identified several unacceptable risks which require a treatment solution in the period 2015-2020.

Our long-standing programme of capital investment will continue with a further £49m of investment between 2015-2020. This will include action on six large schemes to mitigate the risk of drinking water quality failures and improve the acceptability of water to consumers.

The sites are shown in the table below.

Scheme name Driver

Rivelin WTW Colour, disinfection by-products, Cryptosporidium

Langsett WTW Colour, disinfection by-products

Irton borehole Cryptosporidium, disinfection by-products, pesticides

Cowick borehole Other substances and organisms (bacteria)

Heck borehole Other substances and organisms (bacteria)

Lead (regional scheme) Lead

B1.4 Our long-term plansOver the next 25 years we plan to invest £2.8 billion to ensure we can continue to deliver water that meets the stringent standards set by government. The investment will be targeted at:

• Addressing deteriorating raw water quality from moors, rivers and groundwater.

• Driving down complaints associated with discolouration and taste.

• Managing and maintaining our WTWs and water network to secure and improve compliance with quality standards.

We are planning to increase our maintenance activity by 45% between 2020-2030 to maintain the long-term reliability and sustainability of assets and services, with a focus on ensuring compliance with water quality standards.

We will continue to develop how we integrate the impacts of climate change in our planning. We will review and update our plans at regular intervals to ensure that we always act on the latest available data.

Further informationMore details can be found on our website blueprintforyorkshire.com

Our water treatment works at Loftsome Bridge

The iconic Yorkshire landscape



B2: Ensuring sufficient water supplies

Section summary• Our 25 year Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP)

finds that climate change will have a critical influence on our long-term water resources. The plan describes how we have a broad range of options to manage the balance between water supply and demand through the changing climate and other pressures. In the short-term we will reduce demand for water through further investment to control leakage, and by working with customers to use less. We have many long-term options and will review our needs every five years.

• The capacity and resilience of our water treatment and supply infrastructure is critical to our ability to maintain water services through periods of peak demand in extreme dry or cold weather. We have assessed the investment and operational actions we will need to take to maintain and enhance this infrastructure.

• We have detailed plans and facilities in place to manage extreme events that challenge our water supply service. This is our most mature area of current resilience and future planning.




understanding

2013 2030s 2050s 2080s 2020 2030s 2050s 2080s 2012 2013

WR1: Demand exceeds supply Med High

WR2: Demand exceeds distribution

Low Med

WR3: Cold causes bursts Low Med

WR4: Reservoir siltation Low Med

WR5: National emergency water transfer

Low Low



Outcomes being supported We make sure that you always have enough water


Progress measure for this theme of action Measure: Long-term stability and reliability factor: Water networkCurrent performance: Stable (2014/15)Future target: Stable (2019/20)

Our customers place a high value on the reliability of their water supply. Climate change threatens our ability to maintain this service by challenging the balance between water demand and supply. Climate change means we are likely to experience more dry spells and warmer temperatures, which reduces the amount of water available, just as water demand for gardens and showers increases. We also expect to see changes in rainfall patterns, with more rain falling in winter, and less in summer. These changes mean we will need to catch more water when it is available and be more careful about how we use it. This is arguably the most critical part of our climate change strategy because of the importance of our drinking water service.

We are well placed to manage the balance between water supply and demand through the changing climate. This is our most mature area of current resilience and future planning. Our region has a good range and balance of water supply options with reservoirs in the west, river abstractions in the north and groundwaters in the east. We have maximised the benefit of this mix of water sources by developing infrastructure that allows us to move water around the region to where it is needed. We call this the Yorkshire grid and it covers 99% of our customers. We manage our grid to offer one of the most resilient water supply systems in the country. The grid is shown in the diagram below.

Customer voice

When ranking our service priorities, top of the list for customers was a ‘Continuous supply of clean, safe water for drinking and washing/business use’.Our research, 201328


The process of planning and managing Yorkshire’s water supply involves a fully integrated approach from source to tap across the whole region. We have a proven track record of success, with no service restrictions, like hosepipe bans, for over 15 years. This is largely because of the advances we have made following the 1995/96 drought. We have been so successful that today our customers tell us they rarely think about their water service, and only then, in the rare event that something goes wrong. We can be proud of this performance but we are far from complacent. We continue to maintain and enhance the security of our water supply service by:

• Long-term planning to sustainably maintain the balance between supply and demand despite pressures like climate change and population growth section B2.1 .

• Reducing water demand through a continuous focus on leakage, and working with customers to use less section B2.2 .

• Maintaining and enhancing our water treatment and supply infrastructure to get drinking water to where it is needed – section B2.3 . This also ensures water quality as we describe in section B1 .

• Emergency planning to maintain supplies during extreme weather or other emergencies section B2.4 .

B2.1 Long-term planning to sustainably maintain the balance between supply and demand Our detailed WRMP describes how we will maintain the balance between water supply and demand over the next 25 years. Our WRMP describes the action we will take to maintain set levels of service for customers, while meeting the needs of the environment, all at the best financial cost.

A detailed assessment of climate change is included alongside other future factors such as population growth, housing, water use, leakage and metering trends.

The plan is a statutory requirement overseen by Defra and the Environment Agency (EA), produced in accordance with the risk-based approach described in their guideline.

At the time of publishing this climate change strategy, we are finalising our latest WRMP, covering the period 2015/16-2039/40. We have recently published our ‘revised draft WRMP’ and refer below to this latest position. Figures are unlikely to change significantly between this and our final WRMP which will be published in 2014. The water resources pages on our website are kept up to date with the latest available WRMP documentation, which details the full methodology, findings and response plans. This can be found at yorkshirewater.com/our-environment/water-resources/managing-water-resources.aspx .

The impacts of climate change have been included in our water resources planning since the 1990s. We have continually advanced our approach and always use the latest available climate projections to determine the impact on water demand and water resources. We have used the 2009 UK Climate Projections (UKCP09) and our own research to inform our latest WRMP. Our assessments show that climate change is likely to have a significant impact on our long-term water resources but minimal impact on customer demand.

We worked with national experts at HR Wallingford to assess the impact of climate change on our water resources. We identified indicators of drought and selected ten scenarios that span the range of modelled projections in UKCP09 and ten more from only the drier range, thereby stress testing our capability. We modelled the impact of these scenarios using our Water Resources Allocation Planning Simulation (WRAPsim) model. The impact of these scenarios on the volume of water we can supply, known as deployable output, is shown in the graph below.


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The impact of climate change scenarios on our water resources

We can see that the effects of climate change on deployable output are uncertain, and these uncertainties are considered in the WRMP. Full details of this climate change assessment can be found in our document: ‘Technical submission: Climate change effect on deployable output assessment’. This is available on request.

Our climate change assessment on water demand forecasts a less than 1% increase for garden use and personal washing, and no overall impact on total industrial demand. Water efficiency is integral to our WRMP and we discuss our strategy for this below. We will continue to promote water efficiency each year throughout the 25 year planning period, and have included a reduction in demand of 2 Ml/d (mega litres per day) into our forecasts. We note that agricultural needs for water may increase sharply (Adaptation Sub-Committee, 20134), however we currently supply little water for agricultural and horticultural purposes.

We would welcome engagement with the agricultural sector to discuss how we may support this industry further in the future. We have highlighted this area for further consideration in our research and investigation programme.

Overall, we find a growing deficit in our supply demand balance in the water resource zone that covers 99% of our region. We call this the Grid Surface Water Zone. Climate change is the dominant cause of a continuing decline in water available for supply. This is shown in the graph below.

Stakeholder voice

“ The challenge of climate change puts even greater importance on water resource planning.”

Defra, 201314

Customer voice

65% of those customers asked ranked leakage reduction as their first or second preference for maintaining the supply/ demand balance. 31% ranked water meters as a first or second option, despite it being relatively more expensive compared to other options shown.

Our research, 201216

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The balance between water supply and demand


We can choose from a broad range of options to address the growing deficit. To determine the optimal approach we have assessed all realistic options for their financial, social and environmental impact, including greenhouse gas emissions. We have also assessed customer support.

Customers, government and regulators tell us they prefer demand reduction measures such as leakage control and metering, before supply measures such as new abstractions. In the short-term, to 2020, our options appraisal found that further leakage reduction would be the most cost- and environmentally-effective option. We will also continue to enhance customer water efficiency through increased metering and use of water saving devices and audits. We discuss this in more detail below.

In the longer term we expect to need to implement supply as well as demand options, for example, increasing the capacity of some existing borehole abstractions and installing a pipeline to deliver abstracted river water to one of our Water Treatment Works (WTW). In practice, plans beyond 2020 remain highly flexible. The WRMP is updated every five years and this will allow us to re-evaluate the climate change risk. The cyclical approach to water resources management planning ensures that we take action with confidence and using the latest available information. A flexible, progressive approach is appropriate because knowledge evolves rapidly on climate change and other future factors.

The chart below shows the latest view on the combination of options we expect to implement over time to most effectively meet the growing deficit. This is subject to the final WRMP in 2014.

Another supply option is to trade water between companies. We have traded water with our neighbouring water companies for many years and consider such options as standard part of our planning. We have a notable import agreement with Severn Trent Water to use water from the Derwent Valley to support demand in the Sheffield area.

We also export a small amount of treated water to Anglian Water to support their needs. Our assessment and discussions with neighbouring water companies concluded that further water trading options are not currently cost-effective or environmentally acceptable. Our modelling showed that we need to plan for less water from the Derwent Valley supply by Severn Trent Water because of climate change.

B2.2 Reducing water demandWater efficiency is an integral part of water resource planning. A priority for water saving is to sustainably reduce leakage, both from customers’ pipes inside their property boundary, and our own supply pipes. Another priority is to work in partnership with our customers to help them use less.

Reducing leakage

Since 1995 we have almost halved leakage. We have reduced leakage to our lowest ever recorded levels in recent years, achieving 264.72 Ml/d in 2012/13 against a target of 297.1 Ml/d. We recognise there is more to do.

The majority of leaks are from our distribution mains and a third is from customers’ supply pipes, for which they are legally responsible. We can reduce leakage from our mains and activities by increasing the number of people who find and fix leaks, by managing the pressure in the network and by relining or replacing pipes. We also invest in research and innovation.

Annual leakage targets for the next 25 years are modelled for our WRMP, using methodologies provided by Defra, the EA and Ofwat. We plan to reduce our leakage target by a further 10 million litres a day, from 297.1 Ml/d to 287.1 Ml/d by 2020. We will strive to continue beating our target by focusing our operational resources and further innovation.

P1e Reduction in WTW process losses Option 5

R8b Vale of York Phase 2

D2e Pressure management 1.2 Ml/d

R12 East Yorkshire Groundwater Option 1

C1a (i) Business customer audits and retrofit one off implementation

D20 Ouse Raw Water Transfer

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D2c Pressure management 1.6 Ml/d

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D2a Pressure management 2.2 Ml/d

D1g Active Leakage Control in DMAs 30-35 Ml/d

R9 North Yorkshire Groundwater

D1f Active Leakage Control in DMAs 25-30 Ml/d

D1e Active Leakage Control in DMAs 20-25 Ml/d

D1d Active Leakage Control in DMAs 15-20 Ml/d

D1c Active Leakage Control in DMAs 10-15 Ml/d

D1b Active Leakage Control in DMAs 5-10 Ml/d

D1a Active Leakage Control in DMAs 0-5 Ml/d

SDB – the gap between supply and demand (Ml/d)

Our optimised plan to maintain the water supply demand balance

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We offer our customers a free repair service for all domestic supply pipes which are not under buildings. We also offer assistance for detection and repair of any commercial supply pipe leaks. In addition, we raise awareness with customers that they are legally responsible for the supply pipes in their property boundary. We also offer advice and support to help customers understand how they can manage their supply pipes.

Working with customers to use less

Our goal is to deliver tangible water efficiencies and sustainable behavioural change, with a target to reduce water use by 2.1 Ml/d each year. This is equivalent to one litre per household per day each year. We have achieved this target since 2010 and are committed to continuing to do so into the future. We summarise below the range of water saving initiatives we offer our domestic and business customers. This is in addition to the leakage service we described above:

• Free water meters are provided to household customers on request. Meters provide a financial incentive to use less water. Our WRMP forecasts a doubling of households with meters over the next 25 years, from 48% in 2015, to 80% by 2039/40. Metering is instinctively an appropriate method of charging for water supply and sewerage services, based on payment for use. However, metering can result in a more expensive bill because of the additional cost of installing and maintaining the meter.

• Free water saving devices like tap aerators and shower timers are provided to households, businesses and community groups. We also promote water butts and sell them at discounted prices on our website.

• Advice and information is provided through communication campaigns, at events, in our written communications and on our website. We also run education centres for schools and provide information packs for teachers and their pupils.

• Water audits are provided at non-household premises and we install appropriate devices to reduce water consumption.

• Water usage investigations are carried out by our customer service and conservation teams.

More information can be found on the dedicated water efficiency section of our website yorkshirewater.com/ save-water-and-money.aspx .

B2.3 Maintaining and enhancing resilient water treatment and supply infrastructureTo treat and supply drinking water we manage over 50 WTWs and a distribution network of over 31,000 km of water mains with associated valves, pump and meters. The capacity and resilience of this infrastructure is critical to our ability to maintain water services through periods of peak demand in extremely dry or cold weather.

A resilient water network

Climate change and extreme weather impact our network in a number of ways. Cold weather can cause cast iron pipes to become brittle and susceptible to burst, particularly if there are prolonged periods of temperatures below 4˚C. High river flows, intense rainfall events and floods can damage pipes by causing road or bridge crossings to be eroded, or by causing land slips, exposing the pipework. Dry spells can cause soil to shrink and move, affecting pipe integrity. All of these issues can result in an interruption to customers’ water supply. The flexibility provided by our grid offers resilience against these risks because we can often maintain water supplies via an alternative route.

We will continue the large and critical task of maintaining our network. This will be essential to our climate change strategy. We have developed a risk-based asset management process to help us determine future investment needs that balance risk, cost and performance. We call this BGASP, our Below Ground Asset Surveyor and Predictor. We have used this system to develop a targeted structural mains replacement programme that will involve investment of £75 million to replace 228 km of main in the period 2015-2020.

We have used an innovative piece of software called VASTNet to identify water mains which serve more than 10,000 properties and that do not currently have any alternative means of supply. We are investigating how to improve the resilience of these pipelines on a case by case basis. One option might be to lay an alternative, duplicate section of main at critical points where the original runs through a river, road or other hard-to-access area.

Customer voice

82% said it would be unacceptable for their water company to allow more interruptions to supply. Our research, 201219

Installing a water efficient shower head



We are aware of particular areas where extreme weather presents a risk of supply interruption. To help reduce or eliminate this risk we will be increasing mains capacity and network storage, as well as working on projects to manage network pressure. In addition to these capital investment solutions, we are enhancing our operational response. To allow us to respond to bursts and other issues more quickly and in a more targeted way, we will be enhancing our visibility of the network by installing a further 4,500 data loggers that automatically send data to our regional command centre every 30 minutes. We have also identified a range of initiatives following a review of major incidents, including earlier recognition of incidents, further training, and improved communications and escalation processes.

Resilient water treatment

Our WTWs are very reliable. However, there is a risk that we cannot treat water fast enough when harsh weather combines with high demand. We focus on this aspect here. The ability to treat pollutants can also be a risk, as discussed in section B1 .

We will continue the large and important task of maintaining our WTWs. We have developed a risk-based asset management process to help us determine future investment needs that balance risk, cost and performance. We call this AGASP, our Above Ground Asset Surveyor and Predictor. The system enables us to predict when an asset will break down, based on the age and condition.

By 2020 we will invest in two key areas to enhance our resilience to extreme weather risks at WTWs:

• The severe winter of 2010/11 highlighted a risk to water supply in the Keighley area. The local treatment works struggled to produce enough water to meet demand. We will enhance supply resilience by modernising the local WTW which is reaching the end of its asset life.

• One of our small WTW can become inaccessible in winter because it is located over 600 metres above sea level in a steep, remote valley in the Yorkshire Dales. This makes maintenance and delivery of chemicals difficult or impossible in winter conditions. The works can also be forced to shut down when intense rainfall sharply increases colour in the raw water received, most recently in August 2013. Following optioneering we have determined that the best Whole Life Cost solution is to close the works permanently and provide a robust network supply from a more accessible WTW.

B2.4 Maintaining supplies during extreme weatherWe recognise that there is a limit to the level of resilience we can design into any system. There is always a risk that the most extreme dry, wet or cold events could interrupt customer supplies. We therefore have mature emergency plans and facilities in place. In this section we describe our Drought Plan. We also have Winter Plans to cope with extreme cold, which we discuss in Section B5 .

Planning for drought

Our Drought Plan has been developed using extensive experience gained during drought events such as those in 1995/96, 2003 and 2011/12. Together with the WRMP, these documents set out how we will maintain a defined Level of Service during normal and drought periods for both the short and long-term. The Level of Service we provide is:

Temporary use bans like hosepipe bans 1:25 years on average

Drought permits / orders 1:80 years on average

Rota cuts / standpipes 1:>500 years*

*This is an estimate of an exceptionally rare event.

It is important to note these frequencies are an average over a long period and do not preclude a more frequent occurrence if there is a particular run of very dry years. For example, it is possible for a 1:25 year weather event to occur twice in relatively quick succession, but on average it will only occur once every 25 years.

Our Drought Plan contains a framework of options that allow a drought to be best managed dependent on conditions. The Plan is flexible and accounts for a range of possible scenarios because all droughts are different in terms of location, extent, severity and impact. The Drought Plan always reflects latest understanding because it is reviewed every three years. In the event of a drought, our advance planning enables us to act quickly because our options have been assessed for their cost and environmental impact, and agreed with the EA. The Drought Plan includes the following elements to allow us to manage a drought situation:

• Communication plans

• Measures that might be required to reduce customer demand

• Measures that might be needed to obtain extra water supplies

• How we will monitor the effects of the drought and our response measures.

We are legally required to produce, consult on, and publish a Drought Plan every three and a half years, following guidelines published by the EA. Our latest Drought Plan can be found on our website yorkshirewater.com/our-environment/water-resources/drought-plan.asp .

Quantifying our drought risk

We use our WRAPsim model to estimate the supply and demand impacts of different drought severities. This helps us determine our ability to meet demand and the frequency of restrictions that might need to be imposed. Extensive weather records dating back almost 150 years are used to inform our planning. Our modelled records go back to 1920 and include the many notable droughts that have occurred in that time period.

Customer voice

“ We definitely don’t think about the water service in our house, it’s just instant and there all the time. …if I couldn’t go to the tap and get water it would be horrendous.”

Domestic customer from Northallerton, 201219

We have assessed the probability of multi-year droughts in Yorkshire. These would be the most challenging because water stocks might not be sufficiently replenished over the winter period as would normally occur. Working with experts at WRc we found that we should expect a two-year drought once every 40 to 70 years in the south of our region, and every 100 years or more in the north of our region. A three-year drought is likely to occur less frequently than once in 400 years. Such an event has not been experienced in Yorkshire since records began. The frequency of such long duration droughts could increase to as little as 1:100 years under some of the more extreme climate change scenarios.

Managing drought

We continuously monitor our water resources and produce a weekly Water Situation Report which we share with the EA. This process checks stocks against various ‘control lines’ which provide an indication of the state of our water resources, for example indicating normal operations, early warning and drought conditions. We then use our WRAPlan software to optimise our use of available water resources to meet demands and maintain security of supply in the most efficient way.

As a drought materialises, we escalate our interventions as increasingly severe control lines are approached or crossed. A wide range of measures have been pre-assessed for their effectiveness and environmental impact. We start with demand reduction measures such as water conservation campaigns, temporary use bans, leakage control and restriction of use orders. Supply side measures include reducing compensation flows from reservoirs, increasing our existing abstraction licenses and re-commissioning unused resources. Supply side options involve an environmental monitoring plan and protection measures such as creating fish refuges in low flow rivers.

We would consider long-term drought actions when the drought control lines have been crossed in reservoirs and we are in the second year of a drought. Such actions include, for example, inter-company transfers and building de-salination plants.

Communication and collaboration are essential during a drought. We liaise with the EA and other organisations to ensure alignment and to minimise environmental impacts.

B2.5 Our long-term plansOver the next 25 years we plan to invest £5.5 billion to meet the challenges of the growing population and the reduced availability of raw water driven by climate change. The investment will be targeted at:

• Increasing the number of household customers on metered supplies from 48% to 80%.

• Further reducing leakage from our water mains network by 14% to 254 Ml/d.

• Improving the resilience of our critical infrastructure to flooding.

• Managing risk within our WTW’s and network assets to reliably deliver water to our customers without interrupting supplies.

To ensure that our water mains network remains capable of delivering reliable supplies, and avoiding unacceptable levels of interruption, we plan to increase maintenance activity by 45%. This will result in the performance of the mains remaining stable in the long-term.

We will continue to develop how we integrate the impacts of climate change in our planning and will review and update our plans at regular intervals to ensure that we always act on the latest available data.


Damflask Reservoir during a dry period in 2003


B3: Protecting people and the environment from sewer flooding

Section summary• We have delivered significant progress on reducing

sewer flooding and pollution through targeted investment and operational activities. We recognise there is more to do because there are many current and future pressures on our sewerage network, including climate change, population growth and urban development. The increasing flow to combined sewers could cause an increase in sewer flooding and pollution.

• Traditionally, we use a range of operational and investment responses to manage sewer flooding and pollution. For example, a typical investment response might be to increase sewer and pumping capacity. This approach is becoming increasingly unsustainable both financially and environmentally. We are responding by evolving our approach to sewer management and broadening our portfolio of options.

• We are using advanced modelling techniques to better understand our sewer network and target intervention. This is increasingly helping us to address failures before they impact the customer or the environment.

• By working with others and using storm water management techniques like Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), we plan to reduce the amount of rainwater entering the sewer. The rainwater can instead be put to good use for biodiversity, recreation and aesthetic value.




understanding

2013 2030s 2050s 2080s 2020 2030s 2050s 2080s 2012 2013


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Outcomes being supported We take care of your waste water and protect you and the environment from sewer flooding


Progress measure for this theme of action Measure: Long-term stability and reliability factor: Sewer networkCurrent performance: Stable (2014/15)Future target: Stable (2019/20)

The maintenance and enhancement of our sewer network is an enormous and ongoing task. We collect one billion litres of waste water every day using over 52,000 km of sewer pipes, 1,800 sewage pumping stations and 1,200 storage tanks. Our responsibility grew considerably in 2011 when we took over responsibility for 22,000 km of private sewers following a legislative change. It will grow further when we take responsibility for about 720 private sewage pumping stations in 2016.

With an ageing infrastructure, and 81% of our sewers receiving storm water, it is not surprising that the network becomes overloaded, causing both sewer flooding and pollution. An overloaded or blocked sewer can result in the following problems:

• Sewer flooding when flows in the sewer are so high that they back up and escape at the lowest available exit, sometimes within a property or into gardens and community spaces.

• Inability to drain surface water when there is no further capacity in the network.

• Aesthetic and/or water quality pollution when Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) operate to protect against the two above issues.

Significant investment has delivered marked improvement in pollution and flooding over recent decades. We have more than halved the number of properties flooded internally with sewage since 1997/98. We have tackled polluting CSOs by increasing sewer capacity at problem locations to reduce the frequency at which they operate. We have also added fine screens to many of our CSOs to minimise the aesthetic impact of sewage litter by keeping it in the sewerage system for safe removal at the treatment works.

Climate change and other pressures are increasing the burden on our sewer system and the associated risk of flooding and pollution. More frequent, more intense rainfall is projected while urban development is reducing the amount of permeable surface. Recent research found that sewer flood volumes could increase by 51% by about 2040 because of climate change, population and growth in impermeable areas (Ofwat, 201129). The research looked at a number of scenarios, 51% was the median increase in 1:10 year sewer flood volumes.

We are evolving our approach to sewer management to mitigate current and future pressures. This is essential because our customers have told us they expect us to protect them and the environment from overflowing sewers. It is also important to enable sustainable growth of businesses and homes in our region. Our existing approach and future plans for sewer management align closely with the aspirations of the Drainage Strategy Framework that has recently been published by our regulators at the Environment Agency (EA) and the Office of Water Services (Ofwat), 2013.30

Our approach can be summarised in these themes of activity:

• Operational and investment programmes to maintain and enhance our performance on sewer flooding and pollution, section B3.1 .

• Adapting our approach with new techniques to more affordably and more effectively manage storm waters, including Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), section B3.2 .

• Advanced modelling to improve our understanding of risks and response options. We call this Drainage Area Planning (DAP), section B3.3 .

• Partnership working to ensure optimal flood management operations and investments, section B3.4 .

• Customers waste disposal behaviours have an important role to play. This is described in section A2 .

Stakeholder voice

“ ...PR14 should see strong foundations put in place for longer term sewerage planning... Government expects these strategic plans to include appropriate sustainable measures for managing flood risks, such as sustainable drainage solutions (SuDS).”

Defra, 201314

Customer voice

“ ...the weather is getting more extreme, so I think the current sewage system is going to be unable to cope. We are seeing the odd roads that are flooded but it will probably get worse.”

A domestic customer in Doncaster, 201323


B3.1 Targeted operational and investment programmesWe traditionally use a range of operational and investment activities to maintain and enhance our sewer network, all informed by a risk-based approach based on best available evidence. Recent activities and future plans include:

Operational teams proactively identify and mitigate risks and respond to failures when they occur. We will continue activities like sewer surveying and jetting to identify and remove blockages before they result in a failure that impacts customers or the environment.

Sewer rehabilitation is the repair or replacement of sewers that are no longer able to provide an effective service or have a high risk of failure. We have used our Below Ground Asset Surveyor and Predictor (BGASP) tool to target investment where there is a risk of pollution or property flooding.

Major impact sewers are those which have the potential to cause exceptionally high impacts due to their size, depth and locations. We operate three major tunnels and in excess of 269 km of sewers over 1,500 mm diameter. We survey these high risk assets to inform our activities.

Above ground pipes and sewer pumping stations are surveyed and investment is targeted using our Above Ground Asset Surveyor and Predictor (AGASP) tool.

CSOs have been inspected to identify those presenting a risk to river or bathing water quality. We have assessed the probability and impact of an asset failure to inform our investment needs. For example, we will be investing to replace or enhance two sea outfalls in Scarborough.

CCTV and remote monitoring is used to gain better understanding of our network. We use this to target our resources and are increasingly able to intervene before a failure causes an impact to the customer or environment. We plan to increase our sewer monitoring assets. For example, monitoring is being introduced on all overflows that could impact bathing water quality.

Privately owned sewers and drains transferred to water companies in 2011 following a change in legislation. Private sewage pumping stations will transfer in 2016. We continue to develop our understanding of the number, size, age and condition of this substantial quantity of new assets. We are taking a risk based approach to data collection and intervention.

We will continue our programme of sewer rehabilitation and target areas at high risk of flooding or pollution. We will invest £84 million to maintain current levels of internal sewer flooding performance in the period 2015-2020. To maintain our position we expect a need to protect about 400 properties.

B3.2 Adapting our approach to sewer managementOur traditional approach to sewer management has delivered essential benefits for public health and environmental protection. We recognise that our approach needs to evolve to affordably meet future pressures from climate change, ageing infrastructure, population growth and urban development. At the heart of our evolving approach is recognition that we cannot simply build more and ever larger sewers. This might remain the right option in some cases but it will increasingly be too costly, both financially and environmentally.

We believe the most sustainable approach is to work in partnership with others to reduce the amount of rain water entering sewers. This can be done through a range of techniques that store and hold back rainwater, making good use of it for many benefits to biodiversity, recreation and aesthetic value. There are also urban cooling benefits which could be increasingly important to counteract the impacts of warming trends caused by climate change.


Customer voice

“ I would like to know they are spending a proportion of my bill to help if my house was in a flood area to help protect that house.”

A domestic customer in Ripon, 201323

Customer voice

The majority (82%) said it would be unacceptable for their water company to allow more pollution incidents or sewer flooding events.Our research, 201219

A colleague working on the sewerage system

Techniques are varied and could include everything from ponds to water butts to permeable paving. We are working to broaden our portfolio of potential sewer management response solutions to include all of these options, for example:

• Storm water management and SuDS application continues to mature in the UK. There is ongoing discussion between the government, local authorities, water companies and housing developers. We are working to integrate storm water management into our decision making processes. We outline our detailed approach in our position paper on ‘Storm Water Management’. This will be shared with our regulators and is available on request. We will develop and publish a detailed storm water management strategy by the end of 2017.

• Modular design – We will investigate if it is cost-effective to use modular design to affordably enhance our short-term position, while leaving options open for further intervention in the longer term. For example by building some sewer storage today, with design and land to extend this in the future if it becomes necessary.

• Area-wide solutions – We have assessed the costs and benefits of installing an area-wide solution that addresses multiple sewer capacity issues, rather than a number of separate local solutions. We will consider if it is effective to progress any such approaches.

• Impact prevention techniques like non-return valves and flood gates. These approaches may be effective in preventing the impact of overflowing sewers even where it not economically justifiable to remove the root cause.

• Standards for new development – We will keep the standards we require of new developments under review to encourage flow reduction techniques where appropriate.

• Real time monitoring – We will be developing and extending our use of remote monitors in the sewers and on storm overflows to allow effective operational intervention and more accurate modelling. We intend to provide monitoring at the vast majority of our storm overflows by 2020.

B3.3 Advanced modelling to inform our planningWe are committed to improving our understanding of the performance and condition of our drainage network. This is necessary so we can adapt our operational and investment responses to maintain and enhance our sewerage service to cope with long-term pressures like climate change.

Drainage Area Plans (DAP)

Our DAPs use hydraulic models to analyse the condition and performance of the sewer network to identify current and predicted risks by analysing a range of scenarios. We input different rainfall events into the models to identify current sewer capacity issues and predict where they are likely to occur in the future. This data will inform our planning and help us optimise future operational and investment interventions.

We are developing DAPs for our 300 drainage area zones on a prioritised basis over 25 years. We are on target to achieve this, and believe that delivery should be accelerated to support our commitment to maintaining service to all our customers. We began our programme in 2010, and have recently started to complete our first DAPs and share findings with stakeholders to inform planning.

We will have produced 68 of our most important DAPs by 2015. In addition to our DAP programme, we have also developed hydraulic models to inform our coastal investments, our multi-agency studies (described in more detail below) and for specific capital investments.

We will continue a similar scale of investment in our DAP programme in the planning period 2015-2020. Our work will involve maintaining existing DAPs, building new ones and engaging on our findings with stakeholders to inform future planning. By 2020 we will have DAPs covering 64% of the Yorkshire population.

We have recently finished a project with national hydraulic modelling experts at HR Wallingford to produce future rainfall time-series and antecedent wetness conditions specific to the Yorkshire region. The data includes uplifts to account for climate change using the 2009 climate projections (UKCP09). There is a range of uplifts that can be used for the 2030s and 2080s time frames, summer and winter seasons, and 50, 90, 95 percentile probabilities. We will use this data in all our future DAP work to quantify the risks that climate change presents to our sewerage service. This will integrate with existing approaches to model other pressures like population and new development. Together this will enable us to effectively target our interventions.

Urban Pollution Management (UPM)

Our UPM studies use advanced models to investigate environmental water quality problems associated with our sewerage network. The outputs of these studies are shared with the EA and inform the investment needed to achieve Good Ecological Status as required by the Water Framework Directive (WFD). We are working on how to incorporate climate change into this decision making, as described in the DAP section above.

We have recently completed eight UPM studies covering nine water bodies. The process identified a small number of storm overflows where our sewerage system is restricting the rivers’ ability to achieve Good Ecological Status. These overflows will be enhanced in the period 2015-2020. Traditional solutions would include extra storage capacity in the sewer system, although more innovative approaches will be considered at the detailed design stage.

Working with the EA, we have identified a number of further studies that will be completed in the period 2015-2020. These will inform future investment needs.

Stakeholder voice

“ Greater understanding of the hydraulic and operational performance of your sewerage network, and interactions with other flooding mechanisms, will enable effective investment planning...”

Environment Agency, 20133



B3.4 PartnershipWe are one of many organisations that have an essential role to play in Yorkshire’s flood management. Our primary role is to maintain and enhance the public sewer network. We work closely with organisations like the EA, Highways Authorities, Internal Drainage Boards and local authorities. We recognise that we need to work even closer together in the future to deliver the best outcomes for Yorkshire. We are investigating the potential to allocate 10% of our flood risk programme to partnership; working with other flood risk management authorities in the period 2015-2020.

Regional engagement

We are an active member in our region’s formal flood management structures. Our dedicated Flood Strategy Team attend the Regional Flood and Coastal Committee (RFCC) and all four sub-regional Strategic Partnership meetings. Our engineers meet regularly with all Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) and the EA for technical meetings. In practice this engagement means that we share information and resources, carry out training exercises, discuss future plans and consider joint working opportunities. We have pioneered a data exchange protocol to proactively share information on our sewerage network and its performance with the region’s flood management organisations. Through our regular engagement we will continue to review all projects to identify where partnership working is most appropriate.

Multi agency studies

We have worked in partnership with the EA and several local authorities on multi-agency studies driven by the Flood and Water Management Act (2010). The studies assess the integrated flood risk in key locations by bringing together models, data and expertise from all the relevant organisations involved in an area’s drainage. Relevant organisations work together to develop an effective, joined-up approach to priority flood risks.

The three main studies have been in Hull, Leeds and Sheffield. To date, best available evidence has been used in all three investigations and no significant investment needs have been identified for the sewerage network. We will continue to maintain our sewerage system and respond to local sewerage issues. We are a key player in these cities’ flood management strategies and will remain closely involved with relevant discussions and planning.

In Leeds there is potential for some of our assets to be compromised by changes to proposed river flow arrangements. We will continue to work with the Leeds project team to ensure our customers’ current levels of service are not compromised.

In Hull the local topography presents significant challenges to us and other flood risk management authorities. We will be continuing to work with partners to define the long-term objectives and approach.

We continue to work with our partners on a study at Goole. A report is expected soon and will help those organisations involved define the appropriate way forward.

We will continue to support multi-agency studies.

B3.5 Our long-term plansOver the next 25 years we plan to invest £3.6 billion to maintain current levels of service and meet the needs of Yorkshire’s growing population. The investment will be targeted at:

• Protecting a further 2,000 properties from internal flooding from sewers.

• Reducing spills from sewer overflows to protect the water environment and comply with legislative requirements.

• Providing additional capacity for 855,000 more people living in Yorkshire.

• Increasing levels of remote sensing and telemetry in our sewerage network to help us prevent problems before they impact on the customer or environment.

• Managing risk within our waste water network assets to reliably transport sewage for treatment, driving toward 100% compliance with permits.

We are planning to sustain significant levels of investment in tackling sewer flooding over the next 25 years. We plan a 20% increase in our maintenance activity over the period 2020-2030 to address the long-term sustainability of assets and services, with particular focus on the resilience of the sewerage network. We plan for this activity to increase by a further 15% through to 2050.


More details can be found on our website blueprintforyorkshire.com

An example of a Sustainable Drainage Solution (SuDS) in the United States

B4: Improving the environment

Section summary• Healthy habitats and species are best able to resist

pressures such as climate change. We have an important role to play because we interact with the environment every second of every day and we are a large landowner.

• We have delivered dramatic improvements in river and coastal water quality by enhancing waste water treatment over the last 20 years. We will be delivering further enhancements in response to legislative drivers. New waste water treatment capabilities can be capital and carbon intensive so we have been investigating sustainable alternatives to protect and enhance the water environment.

• Partnership is a central part of our approach to environmental management. We have been successful in restoring large areas of our own land and working with others to protect their land. We have also worked with partners to develop approaches to improve fish passage and river restoration. We have plans to further our efforts.




understanding

2013 2030s 2050s 2080s 2020 2030s 2050s 2080s 2012 2013

WE1: Biodiversity Low Med

WE2: Treating sewage in hot/dry Low Low



Outcomes being supported We take care of your waste water and protect you and the environment from sewer flooding



Progress measure for this theme of action Measure: Long-term stability and reliability factor: Waste water qualityCurrent performance: Stable (2014/15)Future target: Stable (2019/20)



We have an important role in managing the environment. We are a large landowner, we abstract water for our customers and we safely return their waste water to rivers and the sea. Environmental protection is an adaptation measure because healthy species and habitats are best placed to cope with a changing climate.

Environmental management is part of every aspect of our climate change strategy and in this section we focus on these priorities:

• Improving and safeguarding the quality of the water environment, section B4.1

• Improving and safeguarding the biodiversity quality of our land, section B4.2

• Managing invasive species, section B4.3

We describe elsewhere in this document the many other risks that climate change presents to our interactions with the environment. For example we examine our role:

• Working with other landowners to protect the environment, section B1

• Protecting the natural environment when we abstract water for supply, section B2

• Managing the impact of intermittent waste water discharges, section B3

• Maintaining waste water treatment services during extreme weather, section B5

• Reducing our impact on the atmospheric environment, part C .

B4.1 Improving the water environmentThe UK has seen a dramatic improvement in the health of many rivers following substantial investment in recent decades (Defra, 201131). We have delivered a step change in waste water treatment over the last 20 years to improve the quality of Yorkshire’s rivers. This investment has met the requirements of EU environmental water quality legislation and provided a firm foundation for habitats and species to cope with pressures such as climate change. However, we recognise that there is more to do.

We have worked with the Environment Agency (EA) to model the impact of our discharges across the whole region to understand the ecological implications. Together, we have defined a programme of environmental investment and investigation needs, totalling over £300m between 2015-2020. We will further enhance our waste water treatment capabilities where we have confirmed biological and/or chemical issues that need to meet legislative standards. Where there is uncertainty, we will be carrying out investigations to inform our long-term approach.

While delivering environmental water quality benefits, the new waste water treatment capabilities described above are often capital- and carbon-intensive. They are also relatively inflexible to the uncertain needs of the future, with fixed and robust concrete structures. We have been working in partnership to trial more affordable and lower carbon alternatives that could replace the need for new waste water treatment capabilities. For example, at Cudworth Dyke in Barnsley we are investigating if river restoration can effectively improve water quality rather than traditional engineering solutions.

We plan to increase our efforts in this area because Defra recognise that such activities can contribute significantly to the overall objective of the Biodiversity Strategy for England, ‘Biodiversity 2020’. Below are two examples of our plans to improve the water environment through innovative approaches:

• Fish passes: Following feasibility work and consultation with the EA and Rivers Trusts, we have prioritised a series of our sites for fish passage schemes. The removal of barriers to fish passage, such as weirs and pipe crossings, will help many water bodies achieve the standards required by the Water Framework Directive (WFD). Fish passes help fish to find the safest reaches of the river during floods and drought.

• Eel passes and screens: We have identified three sites where eels need better protection from our abstraction operations to ensure compliance with the Eel Regulations.

Customer voice

“ …I think it is important to look after the environment and the rivers.”

A small business customer, 201323

Our state-of-the-art waste water treatment works at Knostrop in Leeds

Our new fish pass at Rodley

B4.2 Protecting the land we ownWe are one of the largest landowners in Yorkshire, with approximately 29,000 hectares of land. The majority of our land forms the catchments of our reservoirs. This includes land rented by farmers, moorland peat, woodland of mixed age and species, and reservoirs. In this section we focus on why our land holdings and management practices are important to protect biodiversity in the changing climate.

Over half of our land contain habitats and wildlife which are important enough to be designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). They are also Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) or Special Protection Areas (SPAs) under the EU Habitats and Birds Directives. We recognise the significant responsibility we have in managing our land for the benefit of biodiversity. We are successfully restoring our land following years of damage caused by air pollution, intensive grazing, drainage and wild fires. Over 95% of our SSSIs are now in target ‘favourable’ or ‘recovering’ condition, up from 57% in 2003. Our future plans build on this success, for example:

• SSSI Programme: Maintain and enhance the performance stated above through a programme of land management activities.

• Priority habitat restoration: We have worked with Natural England to identify sites where we will deliver the best biodiversity value for money, such as wildlife corridors which will be valuable in supporting species extend their range in the changing climate.

• Woodland: By 2020 we will have completed a 10 year programme to restore 150 hectares of ancient woodland. We also plan to investigate the location and health of veteran trees on our land, and take measures to secure their survival.

• Capital works enhancement: In accordance with the Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act, we will look for opportunities for biodiversity enhancement projects delivered in conjunction with our capital construction programme. This can be a cost-effective way of delivering enhancements and ‘leaving a positive biodiversity legacy’. For example, we could consider greening urban areas to help reduce the urban heat island effect that is likely to be exacerbated by climate change.

B4.3 Managing invasive speciesClimate change is one of many factors that can affect the spread of invasive species. There are two main issues from invasive species:

1. Managing the impact on our assets and operations Our assets and operations are directly affected by invasive species, causing financial cost and threatening compliance and service. For example, water intakes bring the zebra mussel larvae that are native to Russia directly into Water Treatment Works (WTW) where the mussels clog pipes and other equipment. The problems are managed through removal at considerable financial expense.

2. Managing the impact on native species and the natural environment Invasive species can compete for resources with native species. 1% of waters in the Humber River Basin District failing to reach WFD Good Ecological Status because of invasive species (Environment Agency, 201332).

We will take the following actions to help control the impact of invasive species, thereby helping native species be in the strongest state to resist climate change:

• A risk based programme to control and eradicate pest species listed on Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 Schedule 9.

• A scheme to investigate and trial approaches to remove Crassula on the Gouthwaite reservoir, which is causing the area to fail its SSSI requirements.

• Partnership projects to address riparian invasive species as part of river catchment strategy. This involves landowners collaboratively working together on whole stretches of river to maximise the success of controlling problem species.

B4.4 Our long-term plansOver the next 25 years we plan to invest £6.8 billion to maintain the environmental improvements delivered to date. We will also make further improvements to meet European and government expectations for improved water habitats. The investment will be targeted at:

• Improving the performance of our Waste water Treatment Works (WwTW), storm overflows and contributing to the improvement of rivers to meet the requirements of the WFD.

• Improving the resilience of our assets to flooding.

• Managing risk within our WwTW and network assets to reliably convey sewage for enhanced treatment prior to safely discharging treated effluent to the water environment.

To achieve the benefits of the WFD we will significantly increase our investment on environmental enhancement between the periods 2010-2015 and 2015-2020. This will need to increase further in the subsequent period in 2020-2025. We expect the enhancement investment required for the WFD to tail off in the late 2020s. As this expenditure declines, we will need to increase our maintenance expenditure by 20% to ensure the long-term sustainability of our WwTWs.



Stakeholder voice

“ Statutory undertakers, in their Business Plans, will need to include those actions deemed necessary both to remedy adverse impacts on, and to maintain and enhance the condition of, SSSIs in 2015-2020 and beyond.”

Defra, 201314



B5: Enhancing the resilience of our critical assets and services

Section summary• We manage resilience to all hazards through our

operational and risk management processes. Our approach is one of the key components of our climate change strategy because it is critical to our ability to maintain services and has been successful in many recent events.

• We have quantified the risk to our assets and services from drought, fluvial flooding and coastal erosion. These assessments have considered both past weather and future climate to enable effective long-term decision making.

• Before 2020, we will enhance our resilience through a number of priority interventions. We have used the Cabinet Office model for infrastructure resilience (20115) to ensure a holistic and optimal approach. For example, we will procure demountable flood defences to enhance our emergency response capabilities. We will relocate several assets at imminent risk from coastal erosion. We will also continue to use latest knowledge to develop our risk understanding and inform our plans.

• It is a long-term priority to further enhance the resilience of our assets to ensure we can maintain services in the changing climate. We would like to see the Cabinet Office resilience standards enforced in regulation or legislation.




understanding

2013 2030s 2050s 2080s 2020 2030s 2050s 2080s 2012 2013

CS1: Flooding of our assets Med Med

CS3: Coastal erosion Med High

CS7: Freezing treatment works Med Med


Low Low







Progress measure for this theme of action Measure: Number of Service Commitment failures against our guaranteed levels of service Current performance: 15,267 failures in 2014/15Future target: Reduction from 2014/15 baseline (2019/20)

Achieving resilient services requires us to review a broad range of hazards, known as an ‘all-hazards’ approach. An array of mitigation measures are integrated within our standard operational and risk management processes. Our approach has worked well through numerous recent extreme weather events that have tested UK utilities and infrastructure providers, including ourselves. For example we felt the challenges of the 2007 floods, the hard winters of 2009/10 and 2010/11, and the drought come floods of 2012.

Our approach to resilience is one of the key components of our climate change strategy. We use the Cabinet Office guidance and four box model for infrastructure resilience (20115). This model shows the range of measures required to deliver effective resilience, including both operational and investment responses. The model is shown below.

In this section, we first examine our overarching business resilience measures and then look at a series of weather-specific resilience issues that are relevant to our entire asset base. In previous sections we have examined the resilience of each of our core services, for example drought is covered in section B2 .

B5.1 Enhancing our overarching business resilienceWe manage all risks to the delivery of our business objectives through our corporate risk management systems. We have integrated within these systems our strategic climate change and extreme weather risks. Centrally we also hold more detailed information in our climate change risk register.

Emergency response and recovery

We have extensive emergency plans to enable a fast and effective response to, and recovery from, an asset or service failure event. Such plans are an important part of our response to climate change because there is a limit to the level of resilience designed into any system. This can be limited, for example, by affordability, engineering capability and technical understanding. Our plans make special provision for vulnerable customers and establishments, such as care homes. Our approach has been successful when tested during the extreme weather events of recent years.

Some examples of our provisions and approach include:

• Our regional control centre provides the central point for coordination of any incident. It operates 24 hours every day of the year. Incidents are managed using real time performance data, remote management control and field teams.

• Our Incident Management Framework provides a staged response to ensure the effective allocation of resource to any incident. As necessary, different levels of management team are established to implement plans and dynamically manage an unfolding incident.

• We have emergency plans, strategic stockpiles of critical materials and a mutual aid agreement with our neighbouring water companies. We are required to develop and maintain plans and facilities to ensure the provision of essential services in times of emergency by the Security and Emergency Measures Direction (SEMD). These plans are externally audited each year on behalf of Defra.

• We have a Board-approved business continuity policy and follow the requirements of ISO22301, the International Standard for Business Continuity. We have a rolling programme to test critical systems and processes.

• We work with the local and regional resilience forums and other essential service providers, like the police, to plan for emergencies and consider our mutual reliance. We are also a member of the Lifeline Services Group which is a forum for all northern utilities to share intelligence and best practice and discuss any cross-sector issues. This has meant, for example, that our standby rotas have been tailored to mirror police command structures. We have also undertaken various joint training exercises and we have shared understanding of each other’s businesses.

• Insurance cover is an essential backstop to support the costs of responding to notable damage caused by the most extreme events. For example, we claimed on our insurance to help cover our costs incurred in the 2007 floods. That event exceeded the ceiling of our cover at the time and we have since increased our level of cover.

Customer voice

“ Flooding, heavy rain and coastal erosion, along with milder and colder winters were all felt to have become more frequent, and more than half felt flooding, heavy rain and coastal erosion had become more severe, and were likely to become more so by 2050.”

A survey by Defra, 201318

ResistanceProtection to withstand

a hazard (e.g. a flood wall)


(e.g. backup pumps)









We continually improve our emergency response and recovery capabilities. In the period to 2020 we plan to invest in additional emergency supplies like high capacity pumps and demountable flood defences. We will also upgrade our alternative water supply strategy that we prepare to ensure basic water services during a major incident, for example reviewing our contracting arrangements for bowsers, tankers and bottled water.

Managing supply chain dependencies and interdependencies

Extreme weather and climate change could interrupt critical elements of our supply chain. Electricity, chemicals and telecoms, for example, are essential to our water and waste water services. Some of our suppliers are also reliant on our services for their functions, resulting in an interdependence. We have a good understanding of our critical dependencies and manage the associated risks through our standard operational and risk management processes, some of which are outlined above.

To focus on one example, we are highly dependent on grid electricity as we cannot pump and treat water and waste water without it. Equally, electricity generators are dependent on water from the natural environment for cooling, as well as water and waste water services for staff and activities. This results in a critical interdependence between the water and energy sectors. We work with the energy sector to ensure resilient energy for us and others, by:

• Designing reliability into our critical systems with dual supplies, emergency generators and batteries.

• Agreeing emergency response plans, with our critical sites prioritised in the event of national shortages, and contracts for portable generators when needed.

• Minimising our need for grid supplies with increasing capacity to generate our own renewable electricity.

• Relieving pressure on the national grid at peak times by reducing our electricity demand and providing to the grid the electricity we generate.

B5.2 Enhancing our resilience to flood inundationYorkshire has experienced significant flooding challenges in recent years, most notably during the summer of 2007. Climate change projections suggest that future flooding will be more severe and more frequent because a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture. Our strategic climate change risk assessment found that flooding of our assets was one of the most pressing risks facing the business because of the potential to impact service and compliance with regulations. In addition we describe our approach to sewer flooding in section B3 .

We have worked with national experts at Halcrow to identify our assets at risk from fluvial flooding. Of around 1,200 assets identified to be in areas prone to flooding, approximately 200 critical assets were prioritised for detailed assessment. These sites are deemed critical because of the number of people they serve and the potential impact that would occur in the event of failure. The assessment has used a range of evidence, including latest Environment Agency (EA) hydraulic models and flood maps as well as data on sites that have flooded in the past. The assessment has considered past weather events and future climate change. The methodology is described in Appendix 3 .

We have identified a range of operational and capital solutions to enhance the resilience of our most critical sites to the risk of fluvial flooding. We have used the Cabinet Office model, described above, to ensure a holistic, optimal approach. Capital solutions are tailored to the individual asset and its specific constraints, including measures such as raising control panels above flood depths, installing flood proof doors and/or sealing exterior cable entry holes. Operational response and recovery plans are an important part of any solution because we cannot protect every asset against every rainfall event. In some cases, the emergency response plan is the only cost-beneficial response. Telemetry and flood alarms will be central to our response and recovery regime.

We have had to make some hard choices when prioritising our investment to keep bills affordable in the current economic climate. We are unable to include dedicated funding for fluvial flood resilience solutions in our investment plan for 2015-2020. Our customers told us that they could not afford this investment in the current economic climate. Instead, we are looking to include flood resilience enhancements within other projects where we can. We have been able to do so in many recent projects, for example, we have raised essential and vulnerable equipment at numerous sites where we have been carrying out large projects to comply with new legislative requirements for environmental water quality. In addition, we will seek to implement further operational response and recovery enhancements.

We will continue to develop our knowledge and monitor external developments, for example in EA models which are updated over time. We will use latest evidence to periodically update our assessment to inform future planning. We recognise that fluvial flood resilience is a growing risk due to climate change and urban development, and therefore action is a long-term priority.

Stakeholder voice

“ Flooding was identified as one of the impacts of climate change that is most important to prepare for during the workshops. Of the 19 impacts shown, those relating to flooding (increased flooding of homes and public services being disrupted) were viewed consistently as being both very likely to occur in future and as having a significant impact.”

A survey by Defra, 201318

Reservoir resilience to heavy rainfall

Reservoirs present a risk to downstream communities should they fail in a flood event. The Reservoir Safety Act and Flood and Water Management Act requires that we effectively manage this risk. We do this, for example, by careful and robust design, extensive risk assessment, inspection regimes and maintenance investment.

We will be enhancing our reservoirs’ resilience to flooding by investing about £60 million in the period 2015-2020. The majority of the investment will be used to maintain reservoirs’ structural integrity and enhance their spillways to ensure that excess water can bypass a reservoir without harm. This is the second phase of a ten year programme that started in 2010. We have already enhanced the spillways and drawdown capability of a number of reservoirs.

B5.3 Responding to coastal erosionObservations show that Yorkshire has the fastest eroding coastline in Europe and the rate of erosion has increased in recent years (Quinn et al, 200933). Climate change is expected to increase this risk exposure as erosion rates are exacerbated by higher sea levels and increasing storminess. We have worked with Arup to complete an assessment of the risk from coastal erosion. The process considered a range of available evidence, observed data, historical maps and the National Coastal and Erosion Risk Mapping (NCERM) dataset which accounts for climate change. We have also consulted the relevant coastal plans and policies such as Shoreline Management Plans. The methodology is described in Appendix 3 .

Our assessment has identified essential services that are at risk from a number of assets becoming exposed to the sea in the near future. Withernsea Waste water Treatment Works (WwTW), three pumping stations and a section of water main are all at risk in the short-term. We therefore need to act, most probably by relocating these assets inland. Early action is essential to secure the land, planning permission, local consultation and discharge permit to allow the relocation before the assets are lost to the sea.

We are discussing partnership opportunities with the EA and local authorities where multiple benefits could be achieved by working together to protect locations at risk. Our assessment show that we have further assets at risk in the longer term, so we will periodically review the latest data to inform future planning needs.

B5.4 Planning for a coastal storm surgeStorm surges are rare but can cause devastating coastal flooding. The UK last experienced a storm surge in 1953 which caused over 300 deaths and widespread devastation to people’s homes and businesses along the coastline of Anglia and Yorkshire (Baxter, 200534). Our strategic climate change risk assessment identified that our risk exposure will increase over time as sea levels rise and storms increase in frequency and severity, resulting in a greater risk of flood defences being overwhelmed. The shape of the North Sea and the Humber Estuary contribute to our storm surge vulnerability as surges tend to ‘bounce’ around the North Sea and get channelled up the funnel shaped Humber Estuary (Baxter, 200534).

The Cabinet Office suggests that a storm surge has between a 1:20 and a 1:200 relative likelihood of occurring within the next five years (The Cabinet Office, 201335). We worked with JBA to undertake a provisional assessment of our risk. The project used the coastal flooding outlines from EA flood maps and combined these with sea level rise data from the 2009 UK climate projections (UKCP09) to determine which assets are at risk now and in the future. We identified over 250 assets at potential risk. We will use the outputs from this initial screening exercise to inform further assessment and our operational response and recovery plans.

Many flood risk management authorities are involved in preparing for a storm surge. We are supporting the Humberside Local Resilience Forum who lead our region’s response planning for coastal inundation.

Customer voice

“ There is no choice, this has got to happen and it is a tiny amount to pay.”

A medium sized business customer, 201323

One of our many treatment works flooded in the 2007 floods

Damage caused to a reservoir spillway during an extreme rainfall event



B5.5 Enhancing our resilience to extreme coldSub-zero temperatures, ice and snow can have an impact upon operations and services, for example:

• Customer supply can be interrupted when the pipes on their properties freeze if not effectively insulated. This process can cause the customers’ pipes to burst, with subsequent property damage when the pipe thaws.

• Pipe bursts and associated leakage, both from our pipes and our customers’ pipes, can cause a sharp increase in demand for water and a risk of interruption to water supply.

• Waste water treatment effectiveness can be reduced in a number of ways. Bacteria used to break down waste materials become less active in cold temperatures. Sludge management equipment can freeze. Site access restrictions can be caused by snow and ice can, for example, resulting in the need to accumulate sludge stocks.

• Staff have to work in challenging conditions that present health and safety concerns.

These issues were felt across the UK during the recent hard winters of 2009/10 and 2010/11. We have since improved our seasonal operational plans and enhanced the resilience of many of our critical Water Treatment Works (WTW) with measures such as trace heating and pipe lagging. We plan a small programme of targeted winter protection measures to further enhance the resilience of critical sites, focused on WwTW.

Our Winter Plan describes how we take a stepped approach that escalates as necessary to ensure an effective operational response. We monitor a series of weather and performance indicators to inform our approach each winter. If a harsh winter materialises we can implement a range of measures, such as setting up an Incident Management Team, calling on additional resources and staffing, and customer advice communications.

We are taking a flexible and proportionate approach to managing cold weather risks in the short-term because national understanding is evolving on winter temperature projections. The latest UK climate projections (UKCP09) find that sub-zero temperatures will decrease, however more recent research has found that progressive shrinking of Arctic sea ice is bringing colder, snowier winters to the UK, Europe, North America and China (Georgia Institute of Technology and Beijing Institute of Atmospheric Physics, 201213). This is one of several recent studies to find a relationship between Arctic ice and winter weather. The research suggests that warming atmospheric temperatures reduce the strength of the northern jet steam which normally brings milder weather to Europe. We will monitor for new evidence and use this to inform our long-term approach.

B5.6 Developing our knowledgeOur programme of research and investigations has been instrumental in the development of our climate change risk understanding. We have included a range of further weather and climate change projects in our programme for the period to 2020. For example we will consider the following projects:

• Our risk from landslips and how this is expected to evolve in the changing climate.

• Quantifying how extreme rainfall return periods are likely to change in Yorkshire.

• Quantifying our risk from sea level rise.

• Pluvial flood risk assessment, mirroring the approach we took in our fluvial assessment.


Old Whittington treatment works in the hard winter of 2009/10

B6: Keeping bills affordable

Section summary• There will be a cost to maintain and enhance services in

the changing climate over the long-term. There are also other long-term cost pressures, including for example, population growth, the increasing cost of energy and other finite resources, and an ageing infrastructure.

• We already manage the cost of challenging extreme weather events. For example, the floods of 2007 caused us damage worth about £70 million, of which most but not all was covered by insurance. The more we enhance resilience, the lower the risk of unexpected costs like these.

• To ensure the most cost-effective approach to maintaining services we have a broad range of measures outlined in this climate change strategy. We will keep developing our strategy to determine when and how it

is most appropriate to take action over the long-term, based on risk assessment that uses latest knowledge. We anticipate that action will need to escalate over time in response to worsening climate change. We will strive to maximise the efficiency of our operations to help mitigate increasing cost pressures, for example through innovation.

• We have taken some hard choices to prioritise our most critical needs to ensure customer bills do not rise above inflation to 2020. Our customers have told us that affordability is a top priority in the current economic climate. We will continue to work with our customers in the future to determine the right balance between the cost charged and the level of the service provided. We offer a range of support options for those struggling to pay their water bill.




understanding

2013 2030s 2050s 2080s 2020 2030s 2050s 2080s 2012 2013







Progress measure for this theme of action Measure: Value for money (CC Water Annual Tracking survey) %Current performance: 70% (2013/14)Future target: Improvement from 2014/15 baseline, figure not yet available (2019/20)


It will be a challenge and a priority to ensure that customer’s bills remain affordable as we respond to the increasing pressures of climate change. The cost of climate change cannot be considered in isolation because a variety of inter-related factors combine to determine the total cost of providing our services, for example, population growth, an aging infrastructure, new legislative requirements and diminishing essential resources. We manage this by being as efficient as we can to keep bills as low as possible. We also offer a range of support services to those customers that struggle to pay their bills.

We have taken hard choices in our Business Plan to ensure that bills do not rise above inflation because affordability is a real issue for some of our customers. The average household bill will remain at £382 per annum between 2015-2020, before inflation. We will invest £2.20 of the average annual household bill to:

• Further reduce our leakage in response to the pressures from climate change

• Encourage water efficiency by increasing the number of households on water meters

• Manage sewer capacity issues and internal sewer flooding

• Supply services to new developments.

These are some examples of how we are responding to population growth and climate change.

Bills would have been falling in real terms had it not been for the need to meet the requirements of European legislation to improve the environment.

B6.1 Efficiently managing the cost of climate change and extreme weatherWe manage costs from climate change and extreme weather in two ways:

1. Managing the cost of maintaining services during extreme weather events

We have managed the cost impacts of numerous recent weather events, including floods, droughts and unusually cold winters. For example, the floods of 2007 caused us damage worth approximately £70 million. The weather does not have to be notably extreme to impact on costs. Our typical £50 m annual electricity bill can vary by up to £6 m depending on where and when it rains in our region and therefore how much water and waste water we need to pump.

We expect the cost of maintaining services to increase in the future because climate projections suggest there will be more frequent and more severe extreme weather events.

We are experienced at managing extreme weather events efficiently and effectively. We ensure financial efficiency through our extensive planning, emergency procedures and flexible resource arrangements. We describe these plans and measures throughout this strategy, particularly in section B5 .

We use insurance to help minimise our cost risk. For example, much but not all of the costs incurred in the 2007 floods were covered by our insurance. We have subsequently increased our level of insurance cover to further enhance our resilience.

The more we can enhance our resilience, the lower the risk of unexpected costs and service interruptions.

2. Managing the cost of enhancing resilience to weather

We invest in the most cost-effective way to maintain and enhance our assets to ensure we can provide the levels of service expected of us. We expect investment needs to grow to maintain services as climate change has more severe impact on weather patterns. For example, in our Water Resource Management Plan we have determined the programme of measures required to maintain the balance between water supply and demand in the changing climate over the next 25 years. A diagram of our incremental response plan is provided in section B2 .

We will minimise costs and the impact on customer bills by ensuring the most cost-effective approach to any climate change investment. We do this by assessing latest available knowledge to determine when, where and how it is most appropriate to take action. This is our standard practice for business planning which has resulted in our current levels of resilience through a measured, proportionate and considered approach. Where we determine a priority need for action, we will select the best possible solution by using Whole Life Cost assessment and by considering traditional and innovative techniques.

For our Business Plan to 2020 we have prioritised programmes of investment required for our most critical climate change and extreme weather needs. These are described throughout this strategy document. We will continue to work with our customers in the future to determine the right balance between cost and resilience of services.


Customer voice

“ Whatever the situation the water companies have a responsibility to provide an excellent level of service, that’s their job after all! It’s what we all pay our bills for.”

A customer, 201219

Receiving high flows at Blackburn Meadows waste water treatment works in Sheffield

B6.2 Supporting customers that cannot afford to payWe do all we can to ensure that customers’ bills are as low as possible, but this alone does not protect those who are most vulnerable. Our research found that 24% of households in our region are in water poverty, spending more than 3% of their disposable income on their water and waste water bill (201217). We manage an affordability strategy which is based on customer feedback and delivers the best overall package of support, keeping bills at the lowest level possible for all customers.

Some of the measures we take include:

• Knowing our customers: Data sharing helps us to better understand our customers’ financial circumstances, allowing us to target support to those who most need it.

• Flexible payment plans: We offer customers options about how and when they pay.

• Budgeting advice: We work with different advisor groups like the Citizens Advice Bureau to help and support vulnerable customers and guide us in our approach.

• WaterSure: Is a government scheme that protects metered customers with unavoidably high water use by capping bills at the average bill value. It helps those who are in receipt of benefits and have a large family or relevant medical condition.

• Resolve: Is a scheme that offers low income customers with high arrears a debt management process whereby we write-off debt equivalent to that repaid.

• Community Trust: An independent charity which we run to target customers with the greatest financial hardship where no other scheme can help.

• Bad debt recovery: We estimated that non-payment of bills cost each of our paying customers £11 in 2012. We are recognised as an industry leader in debt recovery and we work to differentiate between those who cannot pay and those that will not pay.

• Social tariffs: The government published guidance allowing companies to bring forward tariffs that permits cross-subsidy between customers. Our research showed customers were not convinced that social tariffs were the most acceptable method of support. We continue to monitor this position and are open to further debate.

Ultimately, we are regulated to deliver services to the standards that our customers expect and are willing and able to afford. We discuss this in more detail in section A1 . . We would like national debate on climate change and the long-term affordability of UK water and waste water services. For example, we would like to work with the government, regulators, other utilities and our customer representative groups to consider:

• How is society best informed of the facts and risks of climate change?

• What is the best way to consult customers on these challenging issues?

• How will the industry ensure long-term affordability?

• What if customers cannot or do not want to pay in the long-term?

• What consideration should we give future customers?



We have a variety of measures to help our customers manage their bills

Part C: Mitigation

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions to play our part in minimising future climate change

IntroductionWe have been successful in delivering absolute emissions reduction in recent years, despite numerous growth pressures. Our success in achieving the Carbon Trust Standard and its predecessor the Energy Efficiency Accreditation Scheme has demonstrated our leading emissions reduction performance through an independent verification process. In this part of our strategy we examine how we will continue to deliver emissions reduction, focusing on these themes:

C1: Understanding our emissions as an essential precursor to their reduction.

C2: Minimising emissions from our use of electricity delivers multiple economic, social and environmental benefits.

C3: Reducing our other operational emissions such as those from fuels and transport, as part of our plan to pursue every opportunity to minimise emissions.

C4: Managing our land with greenhouse gasses in mind is important because we are a large landowner with carbon-rich peat moorland and woodland.

C5: Working in partnership with our supply chain to maximise our influence on emissions reduction with suppliers, delivery partners and customers.

We recognise that every individual can make a difference and we have embarked on a cultural change programme ‘CO2llaborate to use less’. We are also engaging with our customers to reduce the emissions produced when they consume water and use the sewerage network. We discuss these areas in section A2 .

59 | Part C: Mitigation

We’re generating renewable energy from sewage sludge and would like to do much more of this. These tanks are digesting sludge to release methane gas for energy and are part of our plan to create the first large waste water treatment works in Europe that will be self-sufficient for its substantial energy demand.

Customer voice

In a recent national survey, 77% of people agreed that “individuals and organisations who contribute to climate change should take on the responsibility of dealing with its consequences”. A survey by Ipsos Mori for Defra, 201318

Customer voice

“ I think they should be investing, yes, I do.”

“ You’d hope they’re taking the lead.”

Domestic customers, 201327


C1: Understanding our emissions

Section summary• Understanding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is

a precursor to their reduction. We have developed a detailed understanding of our emissions. Electricity is by far our largest source of operational emissions. Emissions are also produced in our supply chain, construction activities and by our customers’ use of water for washing and heating.

• We have successfully reduced our operational emissions since 2010. Our ability to secure the Carbon Trust Standard demonstrates our strong performance.

• We will continue to monitor and develop understanding of our emissions.




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Progress measure for this theme of action Measure: The maturity of our GHG accountingCurrent performance: Mature operational accounting and developing embodied accountingFuture target: Continual improvement in GHG accounting scope and confidence

We recognise that understanding emissions is an essential precursor to their effective reduction.

We have developed a detailed understanding of the emissions we produce during our activities to provide water and waste water services. We call these our operational emissions. This is where we have focused our efforts because it is here that we are able to ensure emissions reduction. We have measured and published most of our carbon footprint annually since 2004, continually improving our approach each year.

The nature of our operational carbon footprint for 2012/13 is shown in the pie chart below. Electricity dominates because the treatment and distribution of water and waste water requires large amounts of energy. Our second largest source of emissions are process emissions. These are produced during the treatment of water, waste water and sewage sludge.

We have delivered an 8% reduction in our operational emissions since 2010/11. This has enabled us to secure the Carbon Trust Standard. Our operational carbon footprint was 386 KtCO2e (kilo tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent) in 2012/13. This is the equivalent of driving nearly 120 million miles in an average petrol car, enough to drive to the moon and back 250 times.

In addition to those emissions in our operational activities, more are produced up and down the supply chain of our services. Embodied emissions result from the production and transport of the things we buy and build to maintain and enhance our water and waste water services. Customers’ end use of water also results in emissions, for example when water is used for heating and washing. The diagram shows the relative proportion of operational, supply chain and customer emissions.

Our land also has an important role in emissions management. As a large landowner we manage carbon-rich peat moorland and woodland. Our research shows our moorland currently absorbs more emissions than it produces, thereby helping minimise future climate change. This is a priority because land management practices can enhance or deteriorate this climate change mitigation function.

We discuss how we are managing all sources of emissions associated with our assets and services throughout the rest of part C of this strategy, and also in section A2 . In section C2 we examine our recent operational emissions and future scenarios.

We will continue to monitor and publish our operational emissions footprint and we will use this data to prioritise our resources to deliver emissions reduction. We continue to develop our accounting methodologies for embodied emissions and how we use these to inform our planning. One of our priorities is to further research the emissions associated with treatment processes, supply chain and customers use of water.

The relative proportion of operational, supply chain and customer emissions

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Operational carbon footprint for 2012/13

Process emissions

Electricity

Transport OtherGas oil

Generating energy with a hydro turbine at Esholt waste water treatment works

A colleague optimises one of our energy generation facilities



C2: Minimising emissions from our use of electricity

Section summary• Electricity presents one of our greatest opportunities

to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions because it accounts for about three quarters of our operational emissions. Our objective is to minimise emissions in the most efficient way available.

• We have been successful in delivering emissions reduction by being more efficient in our use of electricity and by increasing our own renewable electricity generation.

• National grid decarbonisation will help us halve our operational emissions by 2030 if government plans are achieved (DECC, 201337). This is despite several pressures that are expected to increase our electricity demand. The decarbonisation will come at a substantial cost in growing electricity bills and carbon taxes.

• We have many cost-effective electricity efficiency and generation schemes that would help to minimise the cost impact on our customers’ bills and maximise our ability to reduce emissions, beyond those achieved through grid decarbonisation alone. Our customers told us they could not afford the required upfront capital outlay in the current economic climate. Instead, we will seek alternative sources of funding to further our emissions reduction. We will continue to engage with our customers about future options.

• Stronger legislative and regulatory incentives would help us maximise the benefit we can provide to society through carbon reduction. For example, we would welcome increased financial support and/or statutory water industry targets for renewable energy generation.




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Low Low

CS13: Resilient energy self-generation

Low Low





Progress measure for this theme of action Measure: Total GHG emissions from our electricity consumption (KtCO2e)Current performance: 292 KtCO2e (2012/13)Future target: To maximise our cost-effective potential for efficiency and generation

The UK water industry is the fourth most energy intensive sector in the UK and contributes to just under 1% of total UK emissions (Council for science and technology, 200937). It takes a large amount of electricity to run an organisation as big as ours, some 595 GWh each year. This is our third largest operating cost and rising. Our electricity use results in approximately 75% of our operational emissions. We have three main drivers that require us to focus on our electricity consumption and emissions:

1. The high and increasing cost of electricity from growth in wholesale prices, network charges and 18 financial incentives like the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) and Climate Change Levy. The cost of electricity threatens the affordability of water bills for our customers.

2. A continuing long-term trend of increasing electricity consumption, caused by:

New environmental water quality legislation – It is expected that our electricity consumption will increase by approximately 30 GWh (5%) per annum as a result of the investment we will make to comply with new legislation like the Water Framework Directive in the period 2015-2020.

Population growth – Our planning forecasts show we can expect approximately 855,000 more people needing water and waste water services in our region by 2040.

“Private to Public” sewer transfer – In 2011 we became responsible for 22,000 km of private sewers and lateral drains that had previously belonged to our customers, almost doubling the size of our sewer system. By 2016 we will also take responsibility for about 720 private pumping stations. Our initial estimates suggest this will increase our electricity consumption by 14 GWh per annum or 2.5%.

Climate change – We expect the changing weather to drive an increase in our electricity consumption. Where and when it rains in our region can influence our typical £50 million annual electricity bill by up to £6 million because it affects how we need to treat and pump water and waste water.

3. The opportunity to offset growing cost and emissions by using government incentives such as the Renewables Obligation and Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs) to generate our own low-carbon electricity.

We respond to these business risks and opportunities by minimising the electricity we need and maximising our ability to generate our own low-carbon electricity. This approach helps us to reduce our emissions and keep our costs low too.

C2.1 Minimising our use of electricityEfficient use of electricity guarantees many financial, environmental and social benefits. We have made great strides in recent years, successfully reducing our total electricity consumption by 5.3% since 2010/11. This follows 20 years of growth in electricity demand since privatisation, driven primarily by investment to meet new legislation for environmental water quality.

We are investing over £18 million between 2010 and 2015 to further reduce our electricity use by approximately 36 GWh, which is 6% of current consumption. We forecast an increasing demand to meet the numerous pressures outlined above. The graph above shows our past and future forecast electricity demand if there is no further efficiency investment.

In practice we want to continue to reduce our electricity demand. We will achieve further efficiency through a combination of capital investment, improved operations and a culture of increased focus right across our business.

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Stakeholder voice

“ Energy consumption, reducing process emissions and transport efficiency should be considered alongside other aspects of sustainable development in delivering any particular outcome.”

Defra, 201214

Our past and projected electricity demand


Below we provide some examples of ongoing and potential future activities to further reduce our electricity consumption:

• Asset efficiency on electricity-intensive equipment like pumps, motors and gearboxes. For example we are going to save £50,000 per year on our electricity bill by refurbishing the pumps at Brayton Water Pumping Station and by installing an automated control system.

• Asset design for the lowest Whole Life Cost ensures new or refurbished equipment has the best balance between the cost of upfront investment and ongoing operational costs like electricity. For example at Blackburn Meadows Waste water Treatment Works (WwTW) we have installed higher efficiency aeration blowers which over the span of its life will save around £0.6 million. We discuss asset design in more detail in section C5 .

• Monitoring has been enhanced by the introduction of Automatic Meter Readers (AMR) on the vast majority of our supplies, and sub-meters on the most electricity-intensive equipment. Granular, almost-live data greatly improves our ability to target intervention quickly and accurately.

• Control and automation technologies allow regular, instant and optimised process management. For example, water pumping is one of largest electricity consuming activities and we are using our real time systems to optimise their operation and maximise electricity efficiency.

• Training and culture to inform and engage colleagues in climate change issues, at home and in the work place. Our “CO2llaborate to use less” programme has generated ideas, built advocacy and delivered electricity efficiency and emissions reduction across all parts of our business.

The programme will evolve over time and is currently moving into a phase of detailed technical training for those colleagues who are in roles most able to deliver electricity efficiency. We discuss training and culture in more detail in section A4 .

• Governance and reporting makes our electricity performance visible to inform decision making. For example a central Energy and Recycling Team maximises operational efficiency, implements opportunities and fosters the right culture.

We also reduce emissions by managing exactly when we use electricity. We and other large electricity users can help national electricity generators at peak times by using less or supplying to the grid the renewable electricity we produce. This helps national generators avoid switching on extra capacity which is inefficient. We have been trialling techniques and are increasingly effective at reacting when we receive notice of peak demands. We will continue to focus on avoiding peak demand to reduce cost and emissions and contribute to regional energy management.

C2.2 Maximising our generation of low-carbon electricityWe have invested tens of millions of pounds over the last decade to generate renewable electricity. Currently we generate about 7% of our electricity needs from a range of renewable sources. By 2015 we will have increased this to around 12%. The diagram shows our renewable electricity facilities and current developments. To date our expenditure has been on the most cost-effective schemes, funded through customer bills and reinvestment from our profits. Our objective has been to cost-effectively meet our own operational needs, thereby keeping our customers’ bills low and stable, reducing our environmental impact, and improving the resilience of our services.


Our current renewable energy facilities and developments

Here is a summary of our facilities and short-term plans:

• Sewage sludge digestion is our largest source of electricity generation. Our approach is helping to create a sustainable closed-loop waste water treatment operation. This has multiple benefits including reducing GHG emissions and protecting customer bills from volatile and rising electricity prices. In addition to refurbishing our existing digesters to maintain their electricity generation performance, we are also investing in new capacity sufficient to let us close two of our four energy intensive sludge incinerators. Current developments include:

– A Thermal Hydrolysis Plant (THP) is being installed at Esholt WwTW which serves the population of Bradford. The THP will work alongside our existing anaerobic digester plant at the site. This will help us to increase the throughput of sludge at the plant, maximise the electricity we are able to generate from biogas, and produce an enhanced end-product which can be used by farmers as a fertiliser. By 2015 we are planning to make Esholt the first large European WwTW that is electricity self-sufficient.

– The construction of a large new digestion facility at Blackburn Meadows WwTW in Sheffield.

– We are working in partnership to innovate new technologies that maximise the electricity we can generate from sewage sludge. We aspire to deliver a step change in the energy generation capability of current digestion technologies. We have various projects at different stages of innovation and will use the results to inform our future approach to managing sludge and sourcing our electricity.

• Wind turbines are operational at two sites housed on large treatment works at Hull and Loftsome Bridge. We are working in partnership with our sister company Kelda Water Services (KWS) to construct a new turbine at Knostrop WwTW, located in an industrial area of Leeds. The Knostrop turbine will generate up to 3.7 GWh/year for use by Yorkshire Water. We are also working in partnership to progress a number of potential wind developments at various stages of feasibility and planning application. In total, we have identified new turbine developments that could generate about 30% of our demand. We recognise public concerns about the potential aesthetic impact of wind turbines and discuss our new approach below.

• Hydro generation performance has grown by 28% since 2010. We now have six operational sites that provide 4 GWh which is approximately 1% of current demand.

• Solar power is not in our current portfolio. We have recently identified nine suitable sites that could yield 14.5 GWh which is 2.5% of current demand.

Purchasing third party renewable energy

In the short-term, we cannot meet all of our electricity needs through our own renewable generation. The upfront investment needs to be spread over time if it is to be affordable, and further technological development is required. To minimise our environmental impact and support the growing green economy, we are investigating the potential to cost-effectively procure low-carbon electricity from third parties. To date we have not found a cost-effective supplier but the market is evolving rapidly and we will continue to monitor the options.

Customer voice

“ Greener energy production and using waste within any industry to generate its own energy is a positive.”

A medium sized business customer, 201323

Customer voice

“ …once they are producing their own energy, the long-term bills will be reduced.”

A small sized business customer, 201323

We are consulting with communities about wind farm developments that will have strong benefits for customers’ bills and the environment


Choosing wind turbine locations with care

We are considering various locations that we feel are appropriate for wind development and which will deliver multiple benefits for customers and the environment. While some people are pleased to see local and renewable developments, we respect that others perceive aesthetic and noise impacts. We follow industry best practice and recognise the need to be sensitive to the wishes of the local community.

We draw distinction between two approaches:

1. Turbines on our operational sites to help meet the electricity needs of those sites. These sites can have notably less negative impact where they are located in industrial areas. We will continue to prioritise operational sites for new turbines. We recognise that this approach alone can only make a small contribution to our large electricity demand.

2. Wind farms which would be remote from our sites but still providing electricity to cost-effectively support the needs of our operations. We have no operational wind farm sites currently. We are progressing designs and planning applications for a number of sites we feel could be appropriate for wind development.

For new developments we will implement a three point approach to ensure the right balance between those that perceive aesthetic impact and the many wider benefits:

1. Greater pre-planning engagement with local communities

2. More listening to customer feedback and openness to adapting our plans

3. Considering how best to share the gains and invest them in local communities.

C2.3 Our long-term plansWe want to play our part in reducing future climate change by maximising our strong potential for efficient and effective emissions reduction. The line graph below shows our recent operational emissions and three future scenarios.

National grid decarbonisation will help us halve our operational emissions by about 2030 if government plans are achieved (DECC, 201337). This is likely to be the minimum emissions reduction we can achieve. However, this is entirely reliant on the government and the energy sector, and emissions reduction will come at a substantial cost in growing electricity bills and carbon taxes.

We see great value in going further than national grid decarbonisation and we have many electricity efficiency and generation schemes that would help us minimise this cost impact and keep customers bills low in the long-term. In our second scenario we consider our emissions trajectory if we pursue the most cost-effective schemes and mature renewable technologies. Our customers have told us they are unable to fund the required upfront capital outlay in the current economic climate. Instead, we plan to deliver this scenario if we can find alternative sources of funding. We will also continue to engage with our customers about future options.

We are pursuing a range of energy generation innovations. If everything we are currently pursuing is successful we could save around 1,600 KtCO2e by 2035, in addition to that which grid decarbonisation will deliver. This is equivalent to over four years of our current operational emissions, or nearly five billion miles in an average petrol car. The options will also contribute to electricity security by using less and providing local and domestic generation capabilities. This is our best case scenario and we are committed to our continued innovation in energy efficiency and generation.

Stronger legislative and regulatory incentives would help us maximise the benefit we can provide society through carbon reduction. For example, we would welcome increased financial support and/or statutory water industry targets for renewable energy generation.

Customer voice

“ Yes I do think that the water company should be reducing its impact on climate change but at the present time I don’t think it will happen because nobody has the money to pay for it.”

A domestic customer, 201219

We will use renewable energy when...

... there’s a return for our investors

... it’s right for our land and our assets

... it reduces our Whole Life Costs

... customers and stakeholders support it


Recent reduction despite numerous upward pressures and annual variability caused by the weather.

Scenario 2: Delivering our cost-effective and technically feasible schemes for electricity efficiency and renewable generation would help us mitigate the cost of, and go further than, national grid decarbonisation. The cost of this scenario is cheaper than scenario 1 over the long-term. We have not funded the required investment in our Business Plan for 2015-2020 because our customers told us they could not afford the upfront outlay. Instead we have assumed we can secure alternative funding before 2020.

Forecast to 2020 based on the impacts of our Business Plan. Reduction achieved primarily through grid decarbonisation.

Scenario 3: Delivering our ‘lower confidence’ schemes for electricity efficiency and renewable generation could take us a long way towards carbon-neutral operations. These schemes are lower confidence because they involve techniques yet to be proven and/or not yet cost-effective. For this scenario we have assumed we will be able to secure alternative funding before 2020 and that our current innovations deliver as expected.

Scenario 1: National grid decarbonisation will help us halve our operational emissions by about 2030 if government plans are achieved (DECC, 201337). This will come at a substantial cost in our growing energy bills and carbon taxes.

1,600 KtCO2e opportunity for cost-effective additional emissions reduction by about 2035, over and above national grid decarbonisation. This is over four years’ worth of our current operational emissions.

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Electricity accounts for approximately 75% of our operational emissions, as we describe in section C2 . Here we describe how we seek to address every other source of our operational emissions because nothing can be ignored if we are to meet the widely recognised target for 80% reduction by 2050. Climate scientists suggest this is the level necessary to hold global climate change at manageable levels (European Commission, 200738) and the UK government have legislated for the country to meet this target in the Climate Change Act (2008). We theme our remaining emissions sources as follows:

• Process emissions account for approximately 16% of our operational carbon footprint. This includes emissions released during the treatment of water, waste water and sewage sludge.

• Transport contributes about 4% of our operational emissions.

• Fuels and other sources make up the remaining 4% of our emissions.

Stakeholder voice

“ Energy consumption, reducing process emissions and transport efficiency should be considered alongside other aspects of sustainable development in delivering any particular outcome.”

Defra, 201214

C3: Reducing our other operational emissions

Section summary• No source of our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can

be ignored if we are to meet the levels of reduction needed to effectively curb future climate change.

• Treatment processes are our second biggest source of operational emissions, after electricity. We are capturing and harnessing the emissions released from sewage sludge to create energy.

• This is enabling us to close our incinerators, which consume large amounts of gas oil. We are monitoring our process emissions and further research and innovation is a priority.

• The maintenance of our infrastructure and the delivery of our services requires a lot of travel. We seek to reduce the amount we travel and the impact when we do.




understanding

2013 2030s 2050s 2080s 2020 2030s 2050s 2080s 2012 2013



Low Low




Progress measure for this theme of action Measure: Operational GHG emissions excluding electricity (KtCO2e)Current performance: 94 KtCO2e (2012/13)Future target: Continual improvement to cost-effectively minimise

emissions wherever we can

C3.1 Reducing our process emissionsEmissions are directly released during waste water and sewage sludge treatment processes. Emissions are a natural by-product of the biological treatment processes used to break down organic matter in sewage to make it safe for return to the environment. A small amount of emissions are also produced in water treatment processes. These process emissions can also be known as fugitive emissions.

We described in section C2 how we are increasing our capacity to digest sewage sludge to create affordable, low-carbon renewable electricity to power our operations. The emissions of such electricity are notably lower than the current national grid average. There is a further climate change mitigation benefit because these digestion activities contain and harness the fugitive GHG emissions in sewage sludge to create energy. By increasing our sludge digestion capability we are also able to close our incinerators which use large amounts of gas oil. This is a more sustainable approach because it turns a waste into a valuable, renewable product. We want to further expand our digestion capacity.

We also recycle sewage sludge to farmland and reclamation sites to provide a more sustainable alternative to petrochemical fertilisers and peat composts. Sewage sludge is high in nutrients and can safely be recycled to land after carefully controlled treatment processes.

We will monitor our process emissions and consider how we can best take further action to manage them. Research and innovation are a priority in this area.

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C3.2 Reducing our transport emissionsTravel is an essential part of our business because we are a regional company that needs to visit homes, businesses and our thousands of sites. Tankering of water and sewage sludge is a large source of our transport emissions. We also manage a large fleet of cars and vans to support our operations, such as meter readings, site maintenance and movements between offices. Our operational needs challenge our ability to reduce our transport emissions. We are tackling this challenge through a range of initiatives and plans to minimise the amount of travel we undertake and reduce the impact of the travel we do need to undertake.

Minimising our travel

• Remote working technologies are widely used across our operations. Our operators and managers can monitor and control assets anywhere, anytime on their laptops and from our regional control centre. Remote working for our office staff is also encouraged where appropriate for the role, with hot-desking facilities at various locations and remote access technologies. As well as reducing the need to travel, these facilities also enhance our resilience.

• Video-conferencing facilities have been installed on all personal computers and in the majority of meetings rooms. Since the facilities were introduced in April 2012 we estimate that over 70,000 business miles have been avoided.

• New office locations have been chosen with transport links in mind. Our Asset Delivery Unit has located near the centre of Leeds to be near excellent public transport options. Other latest operational offices have been located next to excellent motorway links to avoid unnecessary inner city travel.

Reducing the impact when we do travel

• Efficient vehicles are used by regularly replacing our cars and vans. Our company car fleet currently has average GHG emissions of 121 g/km which is below the national average of 126 g/km (The Association of Fleet Operations, 201339). The average emissions of our order book stands at 117 g/km and we are considering introducing a 130 g/km cap on all company cars.

• Training on driving safety and efficiency is undertaken by many colleagues.

• Electric vehicles are being monitored for their viability in our business. We have been trialling electric vehicles and have installed an electric car charging point at our head office.

• Public transport and lift-sharing is encouraged with discounted season tickets, a lift-share database and bike-to-work scheme.

We will continue to drive a range of initiatives to reduce the amount we travel and reduce the impact when we do travel. We have set ourselves a target to reduce business emissions by 20% between 2012/13 and 2017/18.

C3.3 Reducing our fuels and other sources of emissionsWe have a range of relatively small emissions sources that together make up about 4% of our operational carbon footprint. This includes, for example:

• Fuel oils for generators and incinerators.

• Natural gas, LPG and kerosene for heating and cooking.

• Refrigerant gasses for air conditioning.

In our continual drive for financial and GHG efficiency we identify opportunities to reduce these emissions. For example we have closed a large sewage sludge drying facility at our Hull Waste water Treatment Works because it had become old and inefficient. This operation was one of our largest users of natural gas. We have a programme to maintain and modernise our offices and main operational buildings. This includes activities like increasing insulation, replacing old boilers and introducing modern temperature control systems.


70 | Part C: Mitigation70 | Part C: Mitigation

C4: Managing our land with greenhouse gasses in mind

Section summary• Land management practices affect the amount of carbon

released from peat and soils, directly contributing to climate change and water quality. Greenhouse gasses (GHG) are also released in the additional chemicals, electricity and waste involved in treating poor quality water to make it safe and wholesome for customers.

• We have developed innovative approaches and worked in partnership to improve the management of our own and other people’s land. Our approach is delivering multiple benefits, including for example: water quality, climate change, biodiversity and recreation.

• We were pleased to support the government’s climate change advisors, the Adaptation Sub-Committee (ASC), in their recent work. We support their three recommendations to government: “(i) set an explicit policy goal to increase the area under restoration, (ii) review the enforcement of current regulations, and (iii) improve incentives for landowners to invest in restoration” (20134).

• We are managing our existing woodland sustainably. We have not been able to make the case for new woodland because of insufficient cost-benefit. We remain open to discussion and seek stronger incentives from policy makers for new woodland.




understanding

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Progress measure for this theme of action Measure: The amount of land we conserve and enhance, hectares

Current performance: 13,564 hectares (2014/15) Future target: 16,349 hectares (2019/20)

We are one of the largest landowners in Yorkshire, with approximately 29,000 hectares of land. This land includes land rented by farmers, moorland peat, woodland of mixed age and species, and reservoirs. Our land holdings and management practices are an important part of our climate change strategy for a number of reasons. From a climate change mitigation perspective, land stores significant amounts of carbon, especially peat moorland. Land management practices can either release stored carbon and contribute to climate change and water quality issues, or lock away emissions and help avoid such problems. Carbon storage is also termed ‘sequestration’. Land management is also important from a climate change adaptation perspective, as we outline in section B1 and section B4 .

As a water company we have managed our land and worked with other landowners for many years with the primary goal of protecting water quality, but also recognising many other benefits such as biodiversity, landscape and recreation.

Our water quality objective aligns with climate change mitigation objectives by:

• Helping avoid the additional GHG emitted from the extra electricity, chemicals and treatment processes needed to clean poor quality water that is polluted by inappropriate land management practices; and,

• Slowing, and potentially reversing, the direct contribution to climate change that land has when dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is eroded from bare peat and soil. Climate change could accelerate peat moorland deterioration to the extent of a three-fold increase in the rate of carbon loss (ASC, 20134). The climate change impact is compounded because the DOC is itself a cause of poor water quality that needs extra electricity, chemicals and GHG emissions used in the additional treatment required to remove colour.

C4.1 Managing peat moorland for maximum benefit Peat is particularly important for GHG management because of the huge quantities of carbon that have been locked away over thousands of years. Peat moorlands hold the UK`s largest single store of carbon (Defra, 201040). Yorkshire is strategically important on this issue because our region holds a large proportion of the UK’s peat moorland habitat. We have a leading role because we are a large landowner of peat moorlands and this is the source for much of our drinking water.

Our modelling with Durham and Leeds Universities (Yorkshire Water, 201041) found that our peat moorland is currently a net sink of 10.7 KtCO2e/yr (kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year), and this could increase to 19.5 KtCO2e/yr with targeted management. For comparison, our annual operational GHG emissions were 386 KtCO2e in 2012/13. However, climate change and other pressures are damaging the peat moorland and causing carbon loss. Our research concluded that the most efficient strategy for carbon benefit is the re-vegetation of bare peat to help prevent erosion when it rains. Bare peat can be caused by deliberate and wild fires, air pollution, drainage and over-grazing.

Stakeholder voice

“ Companies should consider how biological carbon sequestration could contribute towards emissions reduction targets with consideration being given to woodland..., management of peat moorland and organic soils...”

Defra, 201214

Eroded peat moorland on Wessenden Moor


Our approach to catchment management supports the objective of the Climate Change Act (2008) to reduce emissions. Our work has delivered extensive industry-leading research, monitoring and trials. Over the last five years we have successfully moved catchment management into practical delivery as an important part of our approach to water quality management. Our past and future catchment management has, and will continue, to be focused on the maintenance and restoration of Yorkshire’s peat moorlands and other protected habitats, both on our own land and working in partnership with other landowners such as the National Trust. Our work will help to keep existing carbon locked away and hopefully even start to grow the carbon store. We will also continue our monitoring and research to further knowledge of the multiple benefits and to optimise techniques in practice.

We have quantified the many benefits delivered by a healthy peat moorland, such as cleaner raw water quality and healthier biodiversity. We found that £2.96 worth of benefits to society (or ‘ecosystem services’) can be delivered for each £1 invested in habitat restoration and protection. Whereas for every £1 not invested, society can lose £2.57 worth of benefits (Natural England, 201242). It is likely that the cost-benefit is actually greater than these figures suggest as the project was not able to include for the value of other benefits. The ASC (20134) said in their recent progress report to government: “There is an economic case for peatland restoration. The case becomes even stronger when risks associated with climate change are taken into account.”

We welcomed the opportunity to support the ASC’s latest progress report by sharing our knowledge and demonstrating catchment management in practice at a site visit to Keighley Moor in March 2013.

Our recent activities and future plans are described in more detail in section B1 .

C4.2 Managing woodland for maximum benefitThe government is increasingly encouraging woodland creation and management because of the many associated benefits. From a climate change mitigation perspective, woodland can provide GHG storage and a sustainable source of energy. While we recognise there are many benefits in well-managed woodland, we are cautious about investing in new plantations because we have not found a firm business case to date. The cost-benefit remains unclear and the current costs of managing our forests are greater than the value of timber we obtain from them. There is inherent uncertainty in relying on a financial or environmental return from woodland that takes many decades to mature and which is itself under increasing pressures from climate change.

We currently manage around 2,000 hectares of woodland, much of which is single age conifer planted in blocks between 1950-1980 with the primary purpose of timber creation. Today, our primary purpose in managing woodland is to protect raw water quality while also delivering other benefits such as biodiversity and recreation. The wood we produce through our maintenance operations is sold for a variety of external uses, including renewable energy. Our sustainable approach to woodland management is independently verified to the FSC Standard (Forestry Stewardship Council) and we follow the UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS) and associated guidelines which reflect internationally recognised best practice.

Our plans for the short- and medium-term continue to be focused on the management of the woodland we already own, and therefore retaining the current GHG store. By 2020 we will complete a 10 year programme to restore 150 hectares of ancient woodland. We manage our ancient woodland for biodiversity through replanting and retention of trees and shrubs that are native to that woodland type. Within our other woodland holdings we are increasing age and species diversity, to reduce the adverse impact of extreme weather as well as pests and diseases. We also plan to investigate the location and health of veteran trees on our land, and take measures to secure their survival. We are managing resilient woodlands in line with government guidance.

In considering new plantations, we have found that traditional cost-benefit assessment shows an unclear case, even when including available subsidies. However, we recognise that there are many non-financial benefits in woodland, including for example: protecting raw water quality, GHG storage, enhancing biodiversity and providing recreational and amenity benefits. Therefore, further investigation is needed to fully understand the value of these ecosystem services and the potential to reduce GHG emissions, as well as the associated incentives and risks. The Water Framework Directive may offer a new driver to plant new woodland to benefit water quality and/or flood risk.

We remain open to discussion about planting new woodland and will be seeking to work in partnership with others to play our part in this process. We would welcome stronger incentives from policy makers to encourage further focus on woodland and their many benefits.


We manage 2,000 hectares of woodland, mainly at our reservoirs

In order to enhance the national approach to moorland peat restoration, we support the Adaptation Sub-Committee’s three recommendations to government: “(i) set an explicit policy goal to increase the area under restoration, (ii) review the enforcement of current regulations, and (iii) improve incentives for landowners to invest in restoration”. Adaptation Sub-Committee, 20134

We and the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust demonstrate the success of our catchment management partnership to the Committee on Climate Change, Defra, Ofwat and Natural England. We have blocked the drain to hold back water, preventing erosion and allowing ‘Sphagnum’ to grow and create new peat.

We are working with our delivery partners to reduce the emissions embedded in the things we build. This image is showing an example of the additional sewer storage capacity we have built to prevent flooding and pollution.

We invest over £1 million per day maintaining and developing our region’s water and waste water infrastructure and operations. We work directly and in partnership with delivery partners to operate, maintain, refurbish and build treatment works, pumping stations and pipework, as well as all the peripheral assets involved. We procure a wide range of goods and services in these activities, everything from chemicals to consultants and paperclips to programme managers. Our investment ensures we comply with existing and new legal standards and our customers’ priorities.

We recognise the scale of the emissions embodied in our extensive supply chain and the need to work in partnership to achieve the best results. Traditionally, we have managed our supply chain with Whole Life Cost firmly in mind.

This approach has delivered many benefits for our business, customers and delivery partners. It has also secured many environmental benefits, with improved operational efficiency achieved by replacing aged assets and minimising materials, travel and waste. There are two elements to our approach:

• Asset delivery – sustainably reducing emissions through enhanced design and optioneering of new assets and infrastructure; and

• Supply chain procurement – sustainably reducing emissions through smarter purchasing and tendering.

At the end of the supply chain we recognise that the largest emissions associated with our services come from customers’ use of water for heating and washing. We have substantial engagement programmes with customers, described in Section A2 .


C5: Working in partnership with our supply chain

Section summary• There are large greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions ‘embodied’

in our extensive supply chain. We are reducing these emissions by ensuring GHG is effectively considered in the design and build of new assets and infrastructure, and in the purchasing of goods, materials and services.

• GHG emissions are one of the factors included in our investment planning decisions. We will be incentivising our designers and engineers to identify efficiencies to minimise this impact.




understanding

2013 2030s 2050s 2080s 2020 2030s 2050s 2080s 2012 2013



Low Low





Progress measure for this theme of action Measure: GHG emissions from our infrastructure investmentCurrent performance: Measurement process in developmentFuture target: To be confirmed after measurement process developed

C5.1 Reducing emissions in our asset deliveryInvestment plans are informed by unit cost models and government data to factor emissions into our decisions on where, when and how to invest. Our approach is enabling us to include the climate change impact in our benefit assessment and to determine the total operational and embodied GHG impact of our plans.

We started using this approach in 2009 and our approach continues to mature with three themes of ongoing activity:

• Data collection and modelling – We have enhanced the GHG aspects of our unit cost models with more detailed data. We are now working to embed a continual improvement cycle where ‘as-built’ GHG data regularly feeds our unit cost models and becomes a seamless part of the investment planning and project life-cycle.

• Whole Life Cost accounting – We have developed our Whole Life Cost tools to incorporate the impacts of GHG. This allows the GHG footprint of different options to be compared to inform the most sustainable approach. We already do this as standard at the programme level. To maximise the efficiency benefit we are currently working to incorporate this as standard at the individual scheme level.

• Incentivising GHG reduction – We are currently working to introduce emissions reduction incentives into our partner management processes, for example by introducing a key performance indicator (KPI) on the amount of GHG reduction achieved through scheme design and optioneering.

C5.2 Reducing emissions in our supply chain procurementOur ambition is for our global supply chains to share our commitment to the continuous improvement of the water environment and wider sustainable development. Our sustainable supply chain policy applies across all our supply chain activities and seeks to articulate a consistent approach with straightforward expectations. We will work with our supply chain partners to continually reduce demand for depleting natural resources whilst enabling a cycle of social, economic and environmental improvements. We expect that our supply chain partners will deliver a similar message within their own supply chains.

The policy can be found on our website at yorkshirewater.com/about-us/supplying-us.aspx .

Our new approach supports emissions reduction in a number of ways:

• Sustainability impact assessment – We aspire to enhance our approach to the inclusion of sustainability factors in our tendering assessment process. GHG emissions can be an important consideration in many of our purchases, for example electricity and chemicals.

• GHG reporting – For several years, our largest capital and maintenance delivery partners have reported the emissions they produce in supporting our operations. We aspire to extend our approach to become risk-based and we are considering introducing requirements into new contracts for all high-GHG activities. Partner emissions data is incorporated into our operational carbon footprint where applicable.


River Nidd, Knaresborough

Adaptation* Action to prepare for climate change

ASC Adaptation Sub-Committee: Part of the Committee on Climate Change who are the government’s formal advisors on climate change

Carbon The element Carbon, often used as shorthand to mean all greenhouse gasses

Carbon footprint A measure of the emissions from an organisation, product or service

Climate* The average weather experienced over a period of time, usually 30 years

Climate change* Long-term changes to the weather, in this context we mean the unprecedented rate of change being observed in recent times

DAP Drainage Area Plan: A model of a drainage catchment to help understand risk and target improvement action

Defra Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

DG5 Director General Measure Number 5: A water industry measure for sewer flooding

EA Environment Agency

EAP Environment Advisory Panel: An independent group of stakeholders and regulators that help direct Yorkshire Water’s activities and plans.

Embodied emissions The emissions created during the construction of a product or service (also known as embedded emissions)

GHG Greenhouse gasses, which contribute to climate change

IPCC* Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: A scientific body established by the United Nations (UN) to assess the latest evidence for, and understanding of, climate change

KPI Key Performance Indicator

KtCO2e

Kilo tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent: A comparable measure to account for the different global warming effects of the various greenhouse gasses. For example Methane has 25 times more global warming potential than carbon dioxide. This is similar to the concept ‘barrels of oil equivalent’

Mitigation Action to reduce future climate change

Ml/d Mega litres per day or a million litres per day

NCERM National Coastal Erosion Risk Maps

Ofwat Office of Water services: The water industry’s economic regulator

Outcome The end result, in this context we mean the long-term objectives our customers have said they expect from us

Resilience* The ability to withstand a hazard

SuDS Sustainable Drainage Systems: A range of approaches that can help manage water to reduce the risk of flooding

UKCP09* UK Climate Projections 2009: The latest and most advanced UK climate change projections available to us

Weather* The day-to-day temperature, rainfall and wind conditions

WFD Water Framework Directive: Legislation from the European Union to protect and enhance the water environment

WRMP Water Resources Management Plan: Our 25 year plan to ensure we can maintain water supplies while protecting the environment

WTW Water Treatment Works

WwTW Waste water Treatment Works, also known as a Sewage Treatment Works

*Further explanation of these terms and others can be found in Appendix 1 of the climate change position paper we published in July 2012. This can be found on our website at: yorkshirewater.co.uk/climatechange

Glossary of terms

78 | Glossary of terms

1. UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2013) Working group 1 Contribution to the IPCC fifth assessment report – Climate change 2013: The physical science basis – Summary for policymakers

2. Met Office (2013) The changing climate: past changes and future projections3. Environment Agency (2013) Business plan evaluation response to Yorkshire Water Services4. Adaptation Sub-Committee (2013) Managing the land in a changing climate5. Cabinet Office (2011) Keeping the country running: Natural hazards and infrastructure6. Environment Agency (2011) Adapting to climate change: Advice for flood and coastal erosion risk management authorities7. Ofwat - Mott MacDonald (2012) Principles for resilience planning8. Met Office (2010) Evidence: The state of the climate9. National Oceanographic Centre (Unknown date) Their website10. University of Oxford (2011) Anthropogenic greenhouse gas contribution to flood risk in England and Wales in autumn 2000,

in Nature vol 470 11. Met Office (Unknown date) The wet autumn of 2000 (webpage)12. Acclimatise and UKCIP (2006) The adaptation tipping point: Are UK businesses climate proof?13. Georgia Institute of Technology and Institute of Atmospheric Physics (2012) Impact of declining Arctic sea ice on winter

snowfall, in PNAS February 201214. Defra (2012) Statement of obligations15. Ofwat (2011) Customer engagement policy statement16. Yorkshire Water – DJS Research (2012) Securing future water supplies17. Yorkshire Water – WSP Environment and Energy (2012) Kelda’s world in 203618. Defra – Ipsos Mori (2012) Programme of research on preparedness, adaptation and risk (PREPARE)19. Yorkshire Water - Accent (2012) Valuing water20. Ofwat – Creative Research (2011) Attitudes to water services in a changing climate - Report of research findings (Volume 1)21. David Stewart, Chair of the independent Environmental Advisory Panel (2013) Email22. Andrea Cook, Chair of the independent Customer Forum (2013) Email23. Yorkshire Water – DJS Research (2013) PR14 Acceptability research24. DECC (2013) Updated short-term traded carbon values used for modelling purposes25. Ofwat (2010) Resilient supplies. How do we ensure secure water and sewerage services?26. Yorkshire Water – University of Newcastle (2013) Customer preferences, willingness-to-pay and willingness-to-accept

changes in water service measures: A choice experiment27. Yorkshire Water - Leeds University (2012) An evaluation of upland catchment management schemes for raw water

improvement28. Yorkshire Water – Creative Research (2013) Regulatory outcomes29. Ofwat – Mott MacDonald (2011) Future impacts on sewer systems in England and Wales.30. EA and Ofwat (2013) Drainage strategy framework31. Defra (2011) Water for life32. Environment Agency (2013) Water for life and livelihoods: Humber river basin district: challenges and choices33. Quinn J, Philip L and Murphy W (2009) Understanding the recession of the Holderness Coast, East Yorkshire, UK: a new

presentation of temporal and spatial patterns. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, 42, 165-17834. Baxter P. (2005) The East Coast Big Flood, 31 January - 1 February 1953: A Summary of the Human Disaster.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Vol 363. 15 June 200535. The Cabinet Office (2013) National risk register of civil emergencies36. Council for Science and Technology (2009) Improving innovation in the water industry: 21st century challenges

and opportunities37. DECC (2013) Valuation of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions for appraisal: Tables 1-20: supporting the toolkit

and the guidance38. European Commission (2007) Communication from the Commission…Limiting global climate change to 2 degrees

Celsius: The way ahead for 2020 and beyond.39. The Association of Fleet Operators (2013) www.acfo.org/news/details/17-10-2013/ald-reports-company-car-co2-emissions-

and-mileage-at-record-low

40. Defra – Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (2010) Greenhouse gas emissions associated with non-gaseous losses of Carbon - fate of particulate and dissolved carbon - SP1205

41. Yorkshire Water - Durham University and Leeds University (2010) Optimising carbon storage in Yorkshire Water peat catchments Phase II

42. Natural England (2012) Valuing land-use and management changes in the Keighley and Watersheddles catchment (NERR044)

References

79 | References

Appendix

App

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82 |

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d to

day

20

20: A

fter

our

nex

t ro

und

of ri

sk m

itiga

tion

Ris

k un

ders

tand

ing

Hea

dlin

es o

f our

pos

ition

and

resp

onse

2013

2030

s20

50s

2080

s20

2020

30s

2050

s20

80s

2012

2013

WR1

: Dem

and

exce

eds s

uppl

y

Drie

r sum

mer

s, c

ombi

ned

with

ext

rem

e he

at, l

ead

to

insu

ffici

ent w

ater

reso

urce

s and

/or t

reat

men

t ca

paci

ty to

mee

t dem

and,

lead

ing

to c

usto

mer

re

stric

tions

and

/or e

nviro

nmen

tal i

mpa

ct (r

educ

ed

com

pens

atio

n flo

ws)

. Not

able

fina

ncia

l and

car

bon

impa

cts f

rom

incr

ease

d pu

mpi

ng a

nd/o

r tan

kerin

g.

Low

to

Med

ium

Hig

h

Our

Wat

er R

esou

rces

Man

agem

ent P

lan

(WRM

P) se

ts o

ut h

ow

we

ensu

re c

usto

mer

s’ w

ater

supp

lies f

or th

e lo

ng te

rm,

acco

untin

g fo

r the

nee

ds o

f the

env

ironm

ent,

the

chan

ging

cl

imat

e, p

opul

atio

n gr

owth

, new

dev

elop

men

t, an

d af

ford

abili

ty.

Our

late

st a

sses

smen

t sho

ws t

hat w

e fa

ce a

gro

win

g ga

p be

twee

n th

e am

ount

of w

ater

ava

ilabl

e (s

uppl

y) a

nd th

e am

ount

re

quire

d (d

eman

d) b

ecau

se o

f clim

ate

chan

ge. O

ur W

RMP

sets

ou

t how

we

will

dea

l with

this

gap,

with

the

first

prio

rity

bein

g to

re

duce

leak

age.

In fu

ture

yea

rs w

e ca

n im

plem

ent f

urth

er o

ptio

ns

to m

eet t

he g

row

ing

defic

it. W

e m

onito

r and

resp

ond

to th

is ris

k in

an

itera

tive

way

, upd

atin

g ou

r WRM

P ev

ery

five

year

s.

WR2

: Dem

and

exce

eds

dist

ribut

ion

Drie

r sum

mer

s, c

ombi

ned

with

ext

rem

e he

at, l

ead

to

hig

h le

vels

of d

eman

d th

at e

xcee

d di

strib

utio

n ca

paci

ty, c

ausin

g in

terr

uptio

ns to

cus

tom

ers'

su

pplie

s. T

his r

isk c

an a

lso b

e ca

used

by

extr

eme

co

ld d

ue to

incr

ease

in b

urst

s and

leak

s.

Low

Med

ium

We

oper

ate

31,0

00km

of p

ipes

to d

istr

ibut

e tr

eate

d w

ater

to

cust

omer

s. W

e ha

ve im

prov

ed th

e fle

xibi

lity

and

relia

bilit

y of

the

wat

er n

etw

ork

to su

bsta

ntia

lly re

duce

the

risk

of in

terr

uptio

n to

cu

stom

ers’

supp

ly. W

e ha

ve re

duce

d th

e am

ount

of w

ater

that

is

was

ted

by w

orki

ng w

ith c

usto

mer

s, a

nd b

y al

mos

t hal

ving

our

le

akag

e sin

ce p

rivat

isat

ion

in 1

989.

We

cont

inue

to m

aint

ain

and

enha

nce

the

netw

ork,

redu

ce le

akag

e an

d de

velo

p ou

r abi

lity

to

mod

el th

e ne

twor

k to

hel

p us

targ

et in

vest

men

t.

WR3

: Col

d ca

uses

bur

sts

Sub-

zero

tem

pera

ture

s and

moi

stur

e de

ficit

ca

use

wid

espr

ead

pipe

bur

sts l

eadi

ng to

failu

re

to m

eet l

eaka

ge a

nd/o

r ser

vice

abili

ty ta

rget

s an

d/or

loss

of s

uppl

y.

Low

Med

ium

We

enha

nced

our

abi

lity

to d

eal w

ith v

ery

cold

wea

ther

aft

er

the

two

hars

h w

inte

rs w

e've

exp

erie

nced

in re

cent

yea

rs.

Our

Win

ter P

lans

set o

ut h

ow w

e w

ill m

aint

ain

wat

er su

pplie

s th

roug

h ex

trem

e co

ld, f

or e

xam

ple

by a

lloca

ting

mor

e re

sour

ce

to o

ur b

urst

and

leak

age

resp

onse

team

s if h

arsh

wea

ther

is

fore

cast

. We

will

mai

ntai

n an

d en

hanc

e ou

r hig

hly

flexi

ble

an

d re

silie

nt g

rid n

etw

ork

that

allo

ws u

s to

mov

e w

ater

aro

und

the

regi

on to

whe

re it

is n

eede

d.

WR4

: Res

ervo

ir sil

tatio

n

Land

use

and

the

chan

ging

clim

ate

resu

lts in

so

il ero

sion,

lead

ing

to si

ltatio

n of

rese

rvoi

rs

and

redu

ced

stor

age

capa

city

, inc

reas

ing

risk

of

supp

ly in

terr

uptio

n to

cus

tom

ers.

Low

Med

ium

We

wor

k w

ith fa

rmer

s and

land

man

ager

s to

tack

le th

is iss

ue

at so

urce

thro

ugh

our c

atch

men

t man

agem

ent p

rogr

amm

e,

whi

ch e

ncou

rage

s goo

d pr

actic

e su

ch a

s pla

ntin

g bu

ffer

strip

s an

d pl

ough

ing

alon

g th

e co

ntou

rs o

f lan

d to

redu

ce e

rosio

n.

WR5

: Nat

iona

l em

erge

ncy

wat

er tr

ansf

er

Nat

iona

l eve

nts r

esul

t in

the

need

to tr

ansf

er

wat

er to

oth

er re

gion

s lea

ding

to re

duce

d

serv

ice

to o

ur re

gion

.Lo

wLo

w

We

reco

gnise

our

role

in n

atio

nal w

ater

secu

rity.

Whe

n de

velo

ping

ou

r Wat

er R

esou

rces

Man

agem

ent P

lan

we

wor

k w

ith o

ther

wat

er

com

pani

es to

find

the

mos

t sus

tain

able

way

to m

eet c

usto

mer

de

man

d. W

e tr

ade

wat

er w

ith n

eigh

bour

ing

wat

er c

ompa

nies

w

here

this

is co

st-e

ffec

tive,

cur

rent

ly sh

arin

g su

pplie

s with

Sev

ern

Tren

t Wat

er a

nd A

nglia

n W

ater

. We

wor

k w

ith th

e m

ulti-

agen

cy

resil

ienc

e fo

rum

s tha

t ope

rate

in o

ur re

gion

to d

evel

op e

ffec

tive

emer

genc

y re

spon

se p

lans

. We

also

hav

e a

mut

ual a

id a

gree

men

t w

ith o

ther

wat

er c

ompa

nies

to sh

are

reso

urce

s in

an e

mer

genc

y.

We

will

cont

inue

to m

onito

r thi

s risk

and

ens

ure

our p

repa

redn

ess.

83 |

App

endi

x 1

We

take

car

e of

you

r w

aste

wat

er a

nd p

rote

ct y

ou a

nd th

e en

viro

nmen

t fro

m s

ewer

floo

ding

Ris

k tit

leR

isk

desc

ript

ion

Tren

d

2013

: As

we

stan

d to

day

20

20: A

fter

our

nex

t ro

und

of ri

sk m

itiga

tion

Ris

k un

ders

tand

ing

Hea

dlin

es o

f our

pos

ition

and

resp

onse

2013

2030

s20

50s

2080

s20

2020

30s

2050

s20

80s

2012

2013

WW

1:

Ove

rload

ed

sew

ers c

ause

flo

odin

g

Rain

fall

lead

s to

inun

datio

n of

the

drai

nage

ne

twor

k ca

usin

g w

ides

prea

d flo

odin

g.

Cou

ld b

e co

mpo

unde

d by

hig

h riv

er le

vels

pr

even

ting

stor

m o

verfl

ows f

rom

ope

ratin

g.

Med

ium

to

Hig

hM

ediu

m

We

mai

ntai

n an

d en

hanc

e ou

r sew

er n

etw

ork

to m

anag

e th

e ris

k of

sew

er fl

oodi

ng. W

e ha

ve o

pera

tiona

l pla

ns a

nd fa

cilit

ies t

o pr

oact

ivel

y an

d re

activ

ely

resp

ond

to se

wer

floo

ding

eve

nts.

W

e al

so in

vest

in a

dditi

onal

pum

p an

d st

orag

e ca

paci

ty, a

nd a

re

cons

ider

ing

new

app

roac

hes l

ike

Sust

aina

ble

Dra

inag

e Sy

stem

s (S

uDS)

. We

wor

k in

par

tner

ship

with

oth

er lo

cal a

nd re

gion

al

flood

man

agem

ent a

utho

ritie

s to

cons

ider

shar

ed ri

sks a

nd

colla

bora

tion

oppo

rtun

ities

. To

help

info

rm o

ur a

ppro

ach,

we

are

part

way

thro

ugh

a lo

ng te

rm p

roje

ct to

mod

el o

ur se

wer

ne

twor

k by

bui

ldin

g D

rain

age

Are

a Pl

ans (

DA

Ps).

We

are

evol

ving

ou

r app

roac

h to

DA

Ps a

nd se

wer

man

agem

ent t

o al

ign

with

the

prin

cipl

es o

f our

regu

lato

rs n

ew D

rain

age

Stra

tegy

Fra

mew

ork.

WW

2:

Ove

rload

ed

sew

ers c

ause

po

llutio

n

Hea

vy ra

infa

ll, o

r pro

long

ed d

ry s

pells

follo

wed

by

rain

, cau

ses s

ewer

s to

be o

verw

helm

ed o

r bl

ocke

d, re

sulti

ng in

pol

lutio

n of

wat

erco

urse

s an

d/or

bat

hing

bea

ches

. For

exa

mpl

e, d

ebris

can

be

flus

hed

from

the

sew

er in

to a

low

-flow

rive

r w

hen

a sh

ort,

shar

p ra

infa

ll ev

ent f

ollo

ws a

dry

spe

ll.

Low

to

Med

ium

Med

ium

We

mai

ntai

n an

d en

hanc

e ou

r sew

er n

etw

ork

to m

anag

e

the

risk

of s

ewer

pol

lutio

n. W

e ha

ve o

pera

tiona

l pla

ns a

nd

faci

litie

s to

proa

ctiv

ely

and

reac

tivel

y re

spon

d to

sew

er p

ollu

tion

even

ts. F

or e

xam

ple,

we

have

ext

ensi

ve te

lem

etry

to w

arn

us o

f po

tent

ial r

isks

. We

also

inve

st in

add

ition

al p

ump

and

stor

age

capa

city

to c

onta

in m

ore

flow

with

in th

e sy

stem

, for

exa

mpl

e re

cent

ly b

uild

ing

new

sto

rm ta

nks i

n Br

idlin

gton

to p

rote

ct

agai

nst b

athi

ng b

each

pol

lutio

n. W

e w

ork

clos

ely

with

the

Envi

ronm

ent A

genc

y in

defi

ning

our

app

roac

h an

d w

e ed

ucat

e cu

stom

ers a

bout

wha

t sho

uld

and

shou

ldn'

t be

disp

osed

of v

ia

the

sew

er. W

e re

cogn

ise

incr

easi

ng p

ress

ures

on

our s

ewer

age

syst

em, a

nd a

re m

odel

ling

our c

atch

men

ts to

bet

ter p

redi

ct ri

sk

and

targ

et in

vest

men

t to

redu

ce th

e ris

k of

pol

lutin

g di

scha

rges

. W

e w

ill b

e in

trod

ucin

g Ev

ent D

urat

ion

Mon

itorin

g on

man

y of

ou

r ove

rflow

s to

help

us p

reve

nt p

robl

ems a

nd e

nhan

ce th

e ac

cura

cy o

f our

mod

ellin

g.

WW

3: O

utfa

lls

rest

ricte

d by

se

a le

vel r

ise

Risi

ng s

ea le

vels

lead

to re

stric

ted

outf

alls

re

sulti

ng in

floo

ding

and

pol

lutio

n.Lo

wLo

wW

e ha

ve o

pera

tiona

l pla

ns a

nd fa

cilit

ies t

o pr

oact

ivel

y an

d re

activ

ely

resp

ond

to s

ewer

issu

es su

ch a

s res

tric

ted

outf

alls

. W

e w

ill m

onito

r thi

s ris

k an

d co

nsid

er fu

rthe

r nee

ds.

84 |

App

endi

x 1

We

prot

ect a

nd im

prov

e th

e w

ater

env

ironm

ent

Ris

k tit

leR

isk

desc

ript

ion

Tren

d

2013

: As

we

stan

d to

day

20

20: A

fter

our

nex

t ro

und

of ri

sk m

itiga

tion

Ris

k un

ders

tand

ing

Hea

dlin

es o

f our

pos

ition

and

resp

onse

2013

2030

s20

50s

2080

s20

2020

30s

2050

s20

80s

2012

2013

WE1

: Bi

odiv

ersi

ty

Biod

iver

sity

cha

nges

in re

spon

se to

the

chan

ging

cl

imat

e le

ad to

mai

nten

ance

cos

ts, o

pera

tiona

l is

sues

and

ser

vice

inte

rrup

tions

whe

re o

ur a

sset

s an

d pr

oces

ses a

re c

halle

nged

by

inva

sive

spe

cies

(e

.g. Z

ebra

mus

sels

in w

ater

infr

astr

uctu

re).

Equa

lly,

the

heal

th o

f nat

ive

and/

or p

rote

cted

spe

cies

is

impe

ded

by o

ur in

fras

truc

ture

(e.g

. wei

rs),

or

oper

atio

ns (e

.g. w

aste

wat

er d

isch

arge

), w

hich

re

stric

ts th

eir r

esili

ence

to th

e ch

angi

ng c

limat

e.

Low

Med

ium

We

are

inve

stin

g in

var

ious

pro

gram

mes

to re

mov

e in

vasi

ve

spec

ies a

nd su

ppor

t pro

tect

ed s

peci

es o

n ou

r site

s, a

nd in

pa

rtne

rshi

p w

ith o

ur la

ndow

ners

, e.g

. fish

pas

sage

, anc

ient

w

oodl

and

rest

orat

ion,

SSS

I man

agem

ent.

We

have

enh

ance

d ou

r ope

ratio

nal p

roce

dure

s and

con

tinue

to im

prov

e ou

r dat

a

to b

ette

r ena

ble

good

bio

dive

rsity

man

agem

ent p

ract

ices

.

WE2

: Tre

atin

g se

wag

e in

hot

/dr

y

Extr

eme

tem

pera

ture

s and

/or d

roug

ht im

pact

on

bio

logi

cal t

reat

men

t pro

cess

es b

ecau

se o

f di

fficu

lty in

aer

atin

g st

rong

er, m

ore

sept

ic s

ewag

e,

lead

ing

to c

ompl

ianc

e fa

ilure

. In

addi

tion,

war

mer

w

eath

er in

crea

ses n

uisa

nce

prob

lem

s, su

ch a

s flie

s an

d/or

odo

ur, l

eadi

ng to

nui

sanc

e or

ders

/fine

s.

Low

Low

We

are

inve

stin

g to

impr

ove

the

relia

bilit

y an

d fle

xibi

lity

of

our W

wTW

and

will

con

tinue

to m

onito

r thi

s ris

k an

d co

nsid

er

furt

her n

eeds

. We

don’

t ant

icip

ate

this

risk

mat

eria

lisin

g in

th

e sh

ort t

o m

ediu

m te

rm a

s we

use

the

sam

e pr

oces

ses i

n

the

UK

as w

arm

er c

ount

ries s

uch

as S

pain

and

Ital

y do

, w

ithou

t pro

blem

s.

85 |

App

endi

x 1

We

unde

rsta

nd o

ur im

pact

on

the

wid

er e

nviro

nmen

t and

act

res

pons

ibly

Ris

k tit

leR

isk

desc

ript

ion

Tren

d

2013

: As

we

stan

d to

day

20

20: A

fter

our

nex

t ro

und

of ri

sk m

itiga

tion

Ris

k un

ders

tand

ing

Hea

dlin

es o

f our

pos

ition

and

resp

onse

2013

2030

s20

50s

2080

s20

2020

30s

2050

s20

80s

2012

2013

E1: S

ludg

e st

orag

e - l

and

appl

icat

ion

win

dow

Extr

eme

wea

ther

in th

e pe

ak re

cycl

ing

mon

ths

dela

ys s

prea

ding

to la

nd, r

equi

ring

accu

mul

atio

n

of sl

udge

on

site

unt

il th

e ne

xt a

vaila

ble

win

dow

, le

adin

g to

incr

ease

d co

sts a

nd c

ompl

ianc

e fa

ilure

s.

Low

Low

We

man

age

the

slud

ge e

nd-p

rodu

ct o

f the

sew

age

tr

eatm

ent p

roce

ss th

roug

h a

num

ber o

f met

hods

. We

are

mov

ing

away

from

inci

nera

tion

and

incr

easi

ng sl

udge

re

cycl

ing

to la

nd (a

s a fe

rtili

ser s

ubst

itute

) and

for e

nerg

y.

We

will

be

incr

easi

ng o

ur s

tora

ge c

apac

ity b

y 20

20 to

he

lp b

uffe

r aga

inst

this

risk.

E2: S

ludg

e tr

eatm

ent

capa

bilit

y

Incr

easi

ngly

var

iabl

e ra

infa

ll im

pact

s the

load

to

Ww

TW, c

ausin

g po

tent

ial t

reat

men

t pro

blem

s an

d va

riabi

lity

in sl

udge

qua

lity

and

quan

tity,

le

adin

g to

com

plia

nce

issu

es. E

xtre

me

cold

als

o pr

esen

ts ri

sks t

o w

aste

wat

er tr

eatm

ent p

roce

ss.

Low

Low

We

are

inve

stin

g to

upg

rade

the

capa

bilit

ies (

resil

ienc

e) o

f m

any

of o

ur W

wTW

. We

will

con

tinue

to m

onito

r thi

s ris

k

and

cons

ider

furt

her n

eeds

.

E3:

Gre

enho

use

gas e

mis

sion

s

The

finan

cial

cos

t of g

reen

hous

e ga

s em

issi

ons

and

supp

ortin

g gr

id-d

ecar

boni

satio

n m

akes

our

cu

stom

ers’

bill

s una

ffor

dabl

e.N

/AH

igh

We

have

succ

essf

ully

redu

ced

our o

pera

tiona

l gre

enho

use

ga

s em

issi

ons i

n re

cent

yea

rs, d

espi

te u

pwar

d pr

essu

re

from

new

legi

slat

ive

requ

irem

ents

. Ele

ctric

ity a

ccou

nts f

or

appr

oxim

atel

y 75

% o

f our

ope

ratio

nal e

mis

sion

s, a

nd w

e

have

redu

ced

emis

sion

s by

beco

min

g m

ore

ener

gy e

ffici

ent

and

gene

ratin

g ou

r ow

n lo

w-c

arbo

n re

new

able

ene

rgy

(prim

arily

from

sew

age

slud

ge).

In th

e fu

ture

, we

will

see

k

furt

her o

ppor

tuni

ties f

or c

ost-

effe

ctiv

e en

ergy

effi

cien

cy

and

self-

gene

ratio

n. W

e w

ill a

lso

incr

ease

our

focu

s on

re

duci

ng o

ur o

ther

sou

rces

of e

mis

sion

s.

86 |

App

endi

x 1

We

prov

ide

the

leve

l of c

usto

mer

ser

vice

you

exp

ect a

nd v

alue

Ris

k tit

leR

isk

desc

ript

ion

Tren

d

2013

: As

we

stan

d to

day

20

20: A

fter

our

nex

t ro

und

of ri

sk m

itiga

tion

Ris

k un

ders

tand

ing

Hea

dlin

es o

f our

pos

ition

and

resp

onse

2013

2030

s20

50s

2080

s20

2020

30s

2050

s20

80s

2012

2013

CS1

: Flo

odin

g of

our

ass

ets

Floo

ding

(fro

m a

ny so

urce

) of c

ritic

al a

sset

s re

sults

in lo

ss o

f ser

vice

.M

ediu

mM

ediu

m

We

have

com

plet

ed a

qua

ntita

tive

asse

ssm

ent o

f our

risk

from

flu

vial

floo

ding

and

prio

ritise

d sit

es w

hich

wou

ld b

e be

nefit

mos

t fr

om e

nhan

ced

resil

ienc

e. W

e w

ill se

ek to

impr

ove

resil

ienc

e at

our

pr

iorit

y sit

es w

hen

we

wor

k at

thes

e lo

catio

ns fo

r oth

er re

ason

s,

and

as fu

rthe

r fun

ding

bec

omes

ava

ilabl

e. W

e ha

ve e

xten

sive

oper

atio

nal r

espo

nse

plan

s in

plac

e to

resp

ond

to h

eavy

rain

fall

even

ts a

nd w

e ar

e en

hanc

ing

our e

mer

genc

y pr

epar

edne

ss w

ith

dem

ount

able

def

ence

s and

em

erge

ncy

resp

onse

pla

ns.

CS2

: Sto

rm

surg

e

Stor

m su

rge

caus

es c

oast

al a

nd/o

r est

uarin

e

flood

ing

that

dam

ages

ass

ets l

eadi

ng to

pol

lutio

n,

flood

ing

(of o

ur c

ritic

al a

sset

s and

our

cus

tom

ers)

an

d/or

com

plia

nce

failu

re. M

ay a

lso sa

linise

aq

uife

rs, s

ee ri

sk W

Q3.

Low

Med

ium

We

have

car

ried

out a

n in

itial

ass

essm

ent o

f our

risk

from

stor

m

surg

e an

d w

ill u

se th

is to

info

rm o

ur e

mer

genc

y re

spon

se p

lans

. W

e ar

e al

so e

nhan

cing

our

em

erge

ncy

prep

ared

ness

pro

visio

ns.

We

will

con

tinue

to su

ppor

t Loc

al R

esili

ence

For

ums i

n th

eir c

ivil

emer

genc

y pl

anni

ng (c

urre

ntly

pre

parin

g co

asta

l inun

datio

n pl

ans

for o

ur re

gion

), an

d w

ill ta

ke p

art i

n an

y ex

erci

ses o

r tra

inin

g th

at

may

be

requ

ired.

CS3

: Coa

stal

er

osio

n C

oast

al e

rosio

n le

ads t

o lo

ss o

f ass

ets a

nd

ther

efor

e se

rvic

e.M

ediu

mH

igh

We

have

ass

esse

d w

hich

of o

ur a

sset

s are

at r

isk fr

om c

oast

al

eros

ion

in th

e sh

ort,

med

ium

and

long

term

. By

2020

we

will

ne

ed to

pro

tect

or r

eloc

ate

With

erns

ea W

wTW

as w

ell a

s som

e pu

mpi

ng st

atio

ns a

nd p

ipes

. Our

ass

essm

ent s

how

s fur

ther

as

sets

at r

isk b

eyon

d 20

20, a

nd w

e'll r

epea

t our

risk

ass

essm

ent

to in

form

futu

re in

vest

men

t nee

ds.

CS4

: Res

ervo

ir fa

ilure

Prol

onge

d he

avy

rain

s res

ult i

n fa

ilure

of a

re

serv

oir,

lead

ing

to sa

fety

impl

icat

ions

and

loss

of

ass

et/w

ater

reso

urce

.Lo

wH

igh

We

have

ext

ensiv

e ch

ecks

and

pla

ns in

pla

ce to

miti

gate

this

ris

k, u

nder

pinn

ed b

y le

gisla

tive

requ

irem

ents

. We

have

ass

esse

d ou

r risk

from

rese

rvoi

r fai

lure

, and

by

2020

will

be

inve

stin

g to

en

sure

rese

rvoi

r saf

ety

com

plia

nce

by re

furb

ishin

g sp

illw

ays,

im

prov

ing

draw

dow

n ou

tlet c

apac

ity, a

nd u

pdat

ing

our fl

ood

man

agem

ent p

lans

.

CS5

: Lan

dslip

s In

tens

e ra

infa

ll res

ults

in la

ndsli

ps th

at le

ad to

loss

of

crit

ical

ass

ets,

lead

ing

to lo

ss o

f ser

vice

, pol

lutio

n in

cide

nt, o

r per

sona

l inju

ry.

Low

Low

We

have

exp

erie

nced

smal

l, lo

calis

ed la

ndsli

ps in

the

past

, m

ainl

y af

ter v

ery

heav

y ra

infa

ll. W

e w

ill co

ntin

ue to

mon

itor

this

risk

and

cons

ider

furt

her n

eeds

.

87 |

App

endi

x 1

We

prov

ide

the

leve

l of c

usto

mer

ser

vice

you

exp

ect a

nd v

alue

Ris

k tit

leR

isk

desc

ript

ion

Tren

d

2013

: As

we

stan

d to

day

20

20: A

fter

our

nex

t ro

und

of ri

sk m

itiga

tion

Ris

k un

ders

tand

ing

Hea

dlin

es o

f our

pos

ition

and

resp

onse

2013

2030

s20

50s

2080

s20

2020

30s

2050

s20

80s

2012

2013

CS6

: Sco

ur o

f br

idge

s and

fo

unda

tions

Scou

r of b

ridge

s and

foun

datio

ns c

ause

d by

swol

len

river

s cau

ses l

oss o

f ass

ets (

e.g.

pip

es a

cros

s brid

ges)

le

adin

g to

loss

of s

uppl

y or

pol

lutio

n.Lo

wM

ediu

m

We

have

surv

eyed

a re

pres

enta

tive

sam

ple

of th

e re

leva

nt

asse

ts a

nd u

sed

this

to in

form

our

nee

ds to

202

0. T

his s

urve

y in

clud

es th

e ris

k of

scou

r and

reco

mm

ends

app

ropr

iate

bui

ldin

g an

d m

aint

enan

ce w

ork.

We

will

con

tinue

to m

onito

r thi

s risk

an

d co

nsid

er o

ur lo

ng-t

erm

bus

ines

s nee

ds.

CS7

: Fre

ezin

g tr

eatm

ent

wor

ks

Prol

onge

d co

ld le

ads t

o fr

ozen

WTW

, Ww

TW,

sludg

e tr

eatm

ent o

r oth

er c

ritic

al a

sset

s, c

ausin

g iss

ues w

ith c

ompl

ianc

e an

d se

rvic

e.

Med

ium

Med

ium

We

have

enh

ance

d ou

r res

ilien

ce to

col

d w

eath

er fo

llow

ing

th

e ha

rsh

win

ters

of 2

009/

10 a

nd 2

010/

11, f

or e

xam

ple

by

inst

allin

g tr

ace

heat

ing

and

pipe

lagg

ing

at m

any

of o

ur W

TW.

We

have

also

revi

ewed

and

enh

ance

d ou

r Win

ter P

lans

to m

ake

sure

we

have

ade

quat

e re

sour

ces i

n pl

ace

if se

vere

wea

ther

is

fore

cast

. We

plan

a sm

all p

rogr

amm

e of

furt

her '

win

teris

atio

n'

mea

sure

s bef

ore

2020

.

CS8

: Res

ilien

t he

alth

and

sa

fety

Extr

eme

wea

ther

lead

s to

seve

re in

jury

or l

oss o

f lif

e th

at is

link

ed to

YW

act

ivity

or s

ites (

e.g.

uns

afe

drin

king

wat

er o

r floo

ding

). C

ould

be

a m

embe

r of

the

publ

ic o

r a m

embe

r of s

taff

.

Low

Low

Hea

lth a

nd sa

fety

is o

ur to

p pr

iorit

y, w

ith e

xten

sive

pr

oced

ures

and

con

trol

s in

plac

e. W

e w

ill c

ontin

ue to

re

view

and

upd

ate

our a

ppro

ach

regu

larly

.

CS9

: Res

ilien

t hu

man

re

sour

ces

Emer

genc

y re

spon

se to

ext

rem

e w

eath

er le

ads t

o st

aff c

arry

ing

out t

heir

role

s diff

eren

tly, o

r cov

erin

g

for r

oles

they

are

unt

rain

ed fo

r or a

re u

nfam

iliar w

ith,

or in

suffi

cien

t sta

ff, c

ausin

g lo

ss o

f ser

vice

and

/or

H&

S co

ncer

ns.

Low

Low

We

revi

ew o

ur a

ppro

ach

afte

r all

extr

eme

even

ts th

at

signi

fican

tly c

halle

nge

our o

pera

tions

to id

entif

y an

d im

plem

ent

impr

ovem

ents

. Our

Inci

dent

Man

agem

ent P

roce

dure

follo

ws

indu

stry

bes

t pra

ctic

e. W

e ha

ve re

-org

anise

d ou

r bus

ines

s and

ou

r peo

ple

to b

e m

ore

agile

to th

e ne

eds o

f an

extr

eme

even

t.

CS1

0: R

esili

ent

IT a

nd

tele

met

ry

Wid

espr

ead

loss

of c

ritic

al IT

, inc

ludi

ng te

lem

etry

, du

e to

ext

rem

e w

eath

er c

an re

sult

in si

gnifi

cant

ly

redu

ced

abili

ty to

ope

rate

and

ther

eby

impa

ct

serv

ice.

Em

erge

ncy

wor

king

arr

ange

men

ts in

ex

trem

e w

eath

er c

an o

verw

helm

IT c

apab

ilitie

s or

resu

lt in

syst

ems/

proc

esse

s bei

ng b

ypas

sed,

resu

lting

in

kno

ck-o

n im

pact

s to

oper

atio

ns a

nd se

rvic

e.

Low

to

Med

ium

Med

ium

We

have

resil

ient

IT sy

stem

s with

mul

tiple

laye

rs o

f sec

urity

co

ntro

ls an

d ba

ck-u

p ar

rang

emen

ts (c

ompl

iant

with

info

rmat

ion

secu

rity

stan

dard

ISO

270

01).

We

regu

larly

test

our

IT re

silie

nce

and

have

robu

st b

usin

ess c

ontin

uity

pro

cess

es in

pla

ce. W

ith

gene

rally

shor

t ass

et li

ves,

we

will

be a

ble

to e

nsur

e th

e rig

ht IT

sy

stem

s at e

ach

poin

t of p

urch

ase.

88 |

App

endi

x 1

We

prov

ide

the

leve

l of c

usto

mer

ser

vice

you

exp

ect a

nd v

alue

Ris

k tit

leR

isk

desc

ript

ion

Tren

d

2013

: As

we

stan

d to

day

20

20: A

fter

our

nex

t ro

und

of ri

sk m

itiga

tion

Ris

k un

ders

tand

ing

Hea

dlin

es o

f our

pos

ition

and

resp

onse

2013

2030

s20

50s

2080

s20

2020

30s

2050

s20

80s

2012

2013

CS1

1: R

esili

ent

tran

spor

t

Extr

eme

wea

ther

eve

nts l

ead

to w

ides

prea

d

trav

el d

isrup

tion

inhi

bitin

g st

aff g

ettin

g to

wor

k or

sit

e fo

r pro

long

ed p

erio

ds, l

eadi

ng to

loss

of s

ervi

ce.

Extr

eme

wea

ther

can

also

incr

ease

the

safe

ty ri

sks

invo

lved

in tr

avel

.

Med

ium

Med

ium

We

have

em

erge

ncy

proc

edur

es a

nd fa

cilit

ies (

such

as

stoc

kpile

s of c

ritic

al c

hem

ical

s and

rem

ote

acce

ss fa

cilit

ies)

in

orde

r to

supp

ort o

ur o

pera

tions

if tr

ansp

ort i

s hin

dere

d. W

e

are

also

read

y to

tem

pora

rily

incr

ease

our

tran

spor

t cap

abili

ties

in e

xtre

me

cond

ition

s if r

equi

red,

for e

xam

ple

by h

iring

of

f-ro

ad v

ehic

les i

n ha

rsh

win

ters

.

CS1

2: R

esili

ent

supp

ly c

hain

, in

clud

ing

grid

el

ectr

icity

YW

supp

ly c

hain

(loc

ally

and

/or g

loba

lly) i

s in

terr

upte

d, c

ausin

g lo

ss o

f ser

vice

, for

exa

mpl

e

grid

ele

ctric

ity o

r tre

atm

ent c

hem

ical

s.Lo

wLo

w

We

man

age

the

risk

of o

ur su

pply

cha

in b

eing

inte

rrup

ted

by

ens

urin

g w

e ha

ve g

ood

cont

ract

arr

ange

men

ts in

pla

ce

with

our

maj

or su

pplie

rs a

nd h

ave

rece

ntly

upd

ated

our

Su

stai

nabl

e Su

pply

Cha

in p

olic

y, a

vaila

ble

on o

ur w

ebsi

te.

We

have

enh

ance

d ou

r res

ilien

ce to

the

loss

of e

ssen

tial t

hird

pa

rty

supp

lies.

For

exa

mpl

e, w

e ha

ve e

nhan

ced

our r

esili

ence

to

the

loss

of g

rid e

lect

ricity

thro

ugh

a nu

mbe

r of m

easu

res

such

as e

mer

genc

y ge

nera

tor f

acili

ties a

nd in

crea

sing

our

ab

ility

to s

elf-

gene

rate

. We

com

mun

icat

e re

gula

rly w

ith o

ur

supp

ly c

hain

and

driv

e co

ntin

ual i

mpr

ovem

ent.

CS1

3: R

esili

ent

ener

gy se

lf-ge

nera

tion

Extr

eme

wea

ther

impa

cts Y

W’s

ene

rgy

self-

gene

ratio

n ca

pabi

litie

s int

erru

ptin

g se

rvic

es,

or (p

ositi

vely

or n

egat

ivel

y) im

pact

ing

cost

, ca

rbon

em

issio

ns a

nd n

atio

nal g

rid. T

his r

isk

will

bec

ome

mor

e im

port

ant a

s YW

gen

erat

es

mor

e of

its o

wn

ener

gy in

the

futu

re.

Low

Low

We

curr

ently

gen

erat

e ab

out 7

% o

f our

ele

ctric

ity n

eeds

usin

g

our o

wn

rene

wab

le so

urce

s, w

ith g

rid-e

lect

ricity

bac

k-up

if

requ

ired.

We

have

a ra

nge

of re

new

able

tech

nolo

gies

acr

oss

man

y lo

catio

ns, s

o ou

r risk

of w

ides

prea

d in

terr

uptio

n is

low

. W

e w

ill b

e m

aint

aini

ng a

nd e

nhan

cing

the

resil

ienc

e an

d ca

paci

ty

of o

ur re

new

able

ene

rgy

asse

ts. I

n th

e lo

ng te

rm, w

e w

ill e

nsur

e hi

ghly

resil

ient

rene

wab

le a

sset

s and

ope

ratio

nal p

roce

dure

s as

we

incr

ease

the

scal

e of

our

gen

erat

ion

capa

bilit

ies.

CS1

4: R

esili

ent

asse

t del

iver

y

Extr

eme

wea

ther

impa

cts Y

W’s

abi

lity

to im

plem

ent

its a

sset

del

iver

y pr

ogra

mm

e on

tim

e, to

cos

t and

/or

in a

safe

way

, im

pact

ing

upon

com

plia

nce

or se

rvic

e.Lo

wLo

w

We

allo

w a

deg

ree

of fl

exib

ility

in o

ur d

eliv

ery

appr

oach

to

allo

w fo

r the

une

xpec

ted

and

still

achi

eve

com

plia

nce

with

re

gula

tory

dea

dlin

es. W

e w

ill k

eep

this

risk

unde

r rev

iew

and

co

nsid

er a

ny fu

rthe

r bus

ines

s nee

ds.

CS1

5:

Resil

ient

ass

et

mai

nten

ance

Ass

ets a

re n

ot m

aint

aine

d an

d/or

repa

ired

prop

erly

so

that

they

do

not p

erfo

rm to

thei

r des

ign

capa

city

w

hen

need

ed d

urin

g an

ext

rem

e ev

ent,

lead

ing

to

loss

of s

ervi

ce, n

on-c

ompl

ianc

e or

hea

lth ri

sk.

Low

Low

We

reco

gnis

e th

at w

e ha

ve a

n ag

eing

ass

et b

ase,

and

un

ders

tand

how

impo

rtan

t eff

ectiv

e as

set m

aint

enan

ce

is in

mai

ntai

ning

ser

vice

. We

will

be

incr

easi

ng o

ur b

udge

t in

this

area

to 2

020

and

will

con

tinue

to m

onito

r our

m

aint

enan

ce n

eeds

for t

he lo

ng te

rm. W

e w

ill c

ontin

ue

to p

artic

ipat

e in

col

labo

rativ

e re

sear

ch w

ith o

ther

wat

er

com

pani

es to

inve

stig

ate

inno

vatio

ns in

mat

eria

ls, p

roce

sses

an

d te

chno

logi

es to

ens

ure

we

are

follo

win

g in

dust

ry b

est

prac

tice

in a

sset

mai

nten

ance

and

man

agem

ent.

89 |

App

endi

x 1

We

prov

ide

the

leve

l of c

usto

mer

ser

vice

you

exp

ect a

nd v

alue

Ris

k tit

leR

isk

desc

ript

ion

Tren

d

2013

: As

we

stan

d to

day

20

20: A

fter

our

nex

t ro

und

of ri

sk m

itiga

tion

Ris

k un

ders

tand

ing

Hea

dlin

es o

f our

pos

ition

and

resp

onse

2013

2030

s20

50s

2080

s20

2020

30s

2050

s20

80s

2012

2013

CS1

6:

Resil

ient

ext

erna

l co

mm

unica

tions

Failu

re to

ade

quat

ely

com

mun

icat

e w

hat Y

W is

do

ing

in re

spon

se to

an

emer

genc

y w

eath

er e

vent

, le

adin

g to

repu

tatio

nal d

amag

e.Lo

wLo

w

We

have

str

ong

com

mun

icat

ion

capa

bilit

ies,

with

mul

tiple

ch

anne

ls (in

clud

ing

soci

al m

edia

) ava

ilabl

e to

shar

e liv

e in

form

atio

n w

ith c

usto

mer

s and

par

tner

s whe

n in

cide

nts

happ

en. S

enio

r com

mun

icat

ion

staf

f are

incl

uded

in o

ur

inci

dent

man

agem

ent t

eam

s to

ensu

re e

ffec

tive

and

timel

y sh

arin

g of

info

rmat

ion.

We

will

con

tinue

to m

onito

r thi

s ris

k

and

cons

ider

futu

re b

usin

ess n

eeds

.

CS1

7:

Lega

l act

ion

Extr

eme

wea

ther

incr

ease

s exp

osur

e to

lega

l ac

tion

from

H&

S in

cide

nts,

non

-com

plia

nce

and/

or

othe

r pro

secu

tions

lead

ing

to c

osts

and

/or d

amag

e

to o

ur re

puta

tion.

For

exa

mpl

e, w

arm

er w

eath

er

resu

lts in

flie

s and

/or o

dour

pro

blem

s lea

ding

to

nuisa

nce

orde

rs/fi

nes.

Low

Low

We

have

robu

st p

roce

sses

and

pro

cedu

res i

n pl

ace

to e

nsur

e

the

safe

ty a

nd re

silie

nce

of o

ur a

sset

s, si

tes a

nd p

eopl

e in

ex

trem

e w

eath

er. W

e w

ill c

ontin

ue to

revi

ew th

ese

regu

larly

to

info

rm o

ur b

usin

ess n

eeds

.

90 |

App

endi

x 1

We

keep

you

r bi

lls a

s lo

w a

s po

ssib

le

Ris

k tit

leR

isk

desc

ript

ion

Tren

d

2013

: As

we

stan

d to

day

20

20: A

fter

our

nex

t ro

und

of ri

sk m

itiga

tion

Ris

k un

ders

tand

ing

Hea

dlin

es o

f our

pos

ition

and

resp

onse

2013

2030

s20

50s

2080

s20

2020

30s

2050

s20

80s

2012

2013

B1: I

nabi

lity

to

secu

re a

ppro

val

Inab

ility

to se

cure

regu

lato

ry, p

oliti

cal a

nd/o

r cu

stom

er a

ppro

val f

or th

e in

vest

men

t req

uire

d

to m

aint

ain

serv

ices

in a

cha

ngin

g cl

imat

e,

lead

ing

to se

rvic

e fa

ilure

s.

Med

ium

Med

ium

We

mus

t dem

onst

rate

that

our

cus

tom

ers,

stak

ehol

ders

and

re

gula

tors

supp

ort o

ur b

usin

ess p

lan

in o

rder

for O

fwat

to a

ppro

ve

it. W

e ha

ve se

cure

d st

rong

supp

ort f

or o

ur b

usin

ess p

lan

to 2

020,

w

hich

incl

udes

a b

road

rang

e of

mea

sure

s to

enha

nce

resil

ienc

e

(as o

utlin

ed in

our

clim

ate

chan

ge st

rate

gy).

As t

he c

limat

e ch

ange

s,

we

expe

ct to

hav

e to

incr

ease

our

spen

ding

on

resil

ienc

e m

easu

res

in o

rder

to m

aint

ain

serv

ices

. We

reco

gnise

that

obt

aini

ng su

ppor

t fo

r thi

s spe

ndin

g co

uld

be c

halle

ngin

g (h

ence

the

red

risk

at 2

020)

, an

d w

e se

ek n

atio

nal d

ebat

e on

the

mat

ter.

We

will

seek

to m

itiga

te

this

risk

by b

eing

ope

n an

d tr

ansp

aren

t abo

ut o

ur d

ecisi

ons,

de

mon

stra

ting

how

our

pro

posa

ls ar

e go

od v

alue

for m

oney

, usin

g th

e la

test

and

bes

t ava

ilabl

e ev

iden

ce, a

nd w

orki

ng in

par

tner

ship

w

ith o

ther

s to

achi

eve

wid

er b

enefi

ts fr

om o

ur in

vest

men

ts.

B2:

Aff

orda

bilit

y

Clim

ate

chan

ge re

quire

s inc

reas

ing

finan

cial

re

sour

ce to

mai

ntai

n se

rvic

e, le

adin

g to

incr

ease

d pr

essu

re o

n af

ford

abili

ty, p

artic

ular

ly fo

r vul

nera

ble

cust

omer

s, p

ushi

ng c

usto

mer

s int

o 'w

ater

pov

erty

'.

Low

Low

Wat

er p

over

ty (a

hou

seho

ld sp

endi

ng m

ore

than

3%

of d

ispos

able

in

com

e on

wat

er a

nd se

wer

age

serv

ices

) cur

rent

ly a

ffec

ts a

roun

d on

e fif

th o

f our

cus

tom

ers.

We

aim

to k

eep

bills

at t

he lo

wes

t lev

el

poss

ible

for e

very

one

and

are

hold

ing

them

stea

dy to

202

0 (ri

sing

only

with

infla

tion)

des

pite

man

y up

war

d pr

essu

res (

incl

udin

g cl

imat

e ch

ange

and

wea

ther

resil

ienc

e). W

e ha

ve se

vera

l sch

emes

to

prov

ide

assis

tanc

e to

cus

tom

ers i

n re

al n

eed,

incl

udin

g W

ater

Sure

, Re

solv

e, o

ur C

omm

unity

Tru

st a

nd th

e H

elpi

ng H

ands

regi

ster

. We

have

ask

ed c

usto

mer

s whe

ther

we

shou

ld im

plem

ent a

soci

al ta

riff

sche

me

and

they

are

cur

rent

ly u

ncon

vinc

ed th

is is

the

mos

t ac

cept

able

met

hod

of su

ppor

t. W

e w

ill co

ntin

ue to

kee

p bi

lls a

s low

as

pos

sible

, inv

estig

ate

soci

al ta

riffs

, mon

itor l

evel

s of w

ater

pov

erty

, an

d se

ek a

nat

iona

l deb

ate

on th

e ch

alle

nge

of a

ffor

dabi

lity.

B3: C

ost

of c

apita

l

YW

seen

as a

risk

ier b

usin

ess d

ue to

ext

rem

e

even

ts a

nd p

roje

cted

wat

er sc

arci

ty, t

here

by

incr

easin

g th

e co

st o

f cap

ital.

Low

Med

ium

We

are

wel

l pla

ced

to m

anag

e ex

trem

e w

eath

er a

nd c

limat

e ch

ange

in th

e sh

ort t

erm

, for

exa

mpl

e w

ith h

igh

stan

dard

s and

ro

bust

em

erge

ncy

arra

ngem

ents

. We

reco

gnise

that

furt

her

inte

rven

tion

is lik

ely

to b

e in

crea

singl

y ne

cess

ary

to m

aint

ain

our

curr

ent p

ositi

on o

ver t

he lo

ng te

rm. W

e w

ill re

view

our

nee

ds

ever

y fiv

e ye

ars a

s par

t of t

he re

gula

tory

bus

ines

s pla

nnin

g pr

oces

s.

Our

Tax

and

Tre

asur

y Te

am m

anag

e ou

r rel

atio

nshi

p w

ith c

redi

t ra

tings

age

ncie

s and

und

erta

ke re

gula

r fina

ncab

ility

chec

ks o

n be

half

of th

e bu

sines

s to

mon

itor,

and

miti

gate

, thi

s risk

.

B4: I

nsur

ance

co

sts

Insu

ranc

e be

com

es in

crea

singl

y ex

pens

ive

due

to

exp

osur

e fr

om in

crea

singl

y ex

trem

e w

eath

er

(and

ulti

mat

ely

cove

r cou

ld b

e re

fuse

d)Lo

wLo

w

Our

clim

ate

chan

ge st

rate

gy a

ims t

o m

itiga

te th

is ris

k by

ke

epin

g pa

ce w

ith th

e ch

alle

nges

pos

ed b

y th

e ch

angi

ng

clim

ate.

Insu

ranc

e co

ver i

s an

esse

ntia

l par

t of o

ur c

limat

e c

hang

e st

rate

gy a

nd w

e w

ill m

aint

ain

stro

ng w

orki

ng re

latio

ns

with

the

insu

ranc

e in

dust

ry to

dem

onst

rate

our

resil

ient

bus

ines

s.

B5: F

aste

r ass

et

dete

riora

tion

Har

sher

wea

ther

and

hig

her l

evel

s of a

tmos

pher

ic

carb

on re

sult

in m

ore

rapi

d de

terio

ratio

n of

ass

ets

and

ther

efor

e in

crea

sed

cost

of m

aint

enan

ce

(e.g

. deg

radi

ng c

oncr

ete

fast

er).

Low

Low

We

reco

gnise

that

we

have

an

agei

ng a

sset

bas

e, a

nd u

nder

stan

d ho

w im

port

ant e

ffec

tive

asse

t mai

nten

ance

is, i

n m

aint

aini

ng

serv

ice.

We

will

be

incr

easin

g ou

r bud

get i

n th

is ar

ea to

202

0

and

will

cont

inue

to m

onito

r our

mai

nten

ance

nee

ds fo

r the

long

te

rm. W

e w

ill co

ntin

ue to

par

ticip

ate

in c

olla

bora

tive

rese

arch

w

ith o

ther

wat

er c

ompa

nies

to in

vest

igat

e in

nova

tions

in

mat

eria

ls, p

roce

sses

and

tech

nolo

gies

to e

nsur

e w

e ar

e fo

llow

ing

indu

stry

bes

t pra

ctic

e in

ass

et m

aint

enan

ce a

nd m

anag

emen

t.

91 |

App

endi

x 1

Appendix 2Data, guidance and principles used in our climate change strategy

Below we summarise the primary sources of data and guidance we have used throughout the development of our strategy. In addition, relevant sections explain where other data and guidance has been used in theme-specific assessments. We also describe the principles that have underpinned our approach.

Data and evidenceUK Climate Projections 2009 (UKCP09)

UKCP09 are advanced climate projections that provide data on a range of climate variables such as rainfall and temperature. There are projections for each decade to the end of the century, in 30-year time periods. The projections are available for three emissions scenarios: high, medium and low. We have used UKCP09 to underpin our climate change assessments because it is widely recognised as the best available climate change evidence to incorporate into planning decisions in the UK. We have tailored our specific approach to each detailed assessment because there is no one-size-fits-all approach with the vast set of data available.

EA flood and coastal erosion maps

The EA provide a range of flood and coastal erosion maps that provide the best available information on such risks. Climate change is incorporated into many of these maps, in different ways depending on when and how the maps were constructed. We have used these maps in our flood and coastal erosion risk assessments.

Met Office weather data records

The Met Office provide a range of observed weather data. We have used various data sets in the development of our climate change strategy.

Internal GIS and data records

We have a bespoke Geographical Information System (GIS) that we have used to support our risk assessment by mapping our asset information to other relevant data such as EA flood maps. We have also used a range of our own data records to inform our risk understanding and response plans. For example we have use our reservoir inflow data to inform our water resources plan.

GuidanceCabinet Office: ‘Keeping the Country Running – Natural Hazards and Infrastructure’ (20115)

The purpose of this publication is “to share best practice and advice to enable organisations to continually improve their infrastructure’s resilience to natural hazards”. The publication set out the worst case scenarios that national infrastructure providers can reasonably be expected to plan for, suggested levels of resilience and a four box model of infrastructure resilience principles.

We have ensured an effective approach to infrastructure resilience in our climate change strategy by following the guidance provided in this report. We are ensuring effective infrastructure resilience by taking action in all four of the ‘strategic components’ of the Cabinet Office model (shown in the diagram). We seek to work to at least the stated worst case scenarios and suggested levels of resilience wherever we can practically do so, being constrained by affordability and customer/regulator support.

ResistanceProtection to

withstand a hazard (e.g. a flood wall)


(e.g. backup pumps)







92 | Appendix 2

Ofwat (Mott Macdonald): Resilience – outcomes focused regulation, Principles for resilience planning (20127)

This publication builds on the Cabinet Office work and provides “principles for resilience planning, together with examples of available evidence and of different resilience planning practices”. We have incorporated these principles throughout our climate change strategy.

EA: Adapting to Climate Change – Advice for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Authorities (20116)

This publication provides advice “to ensure that an economically credible appraisal, taking account of the uncertainties associated with climate change, can be made to support government investment decisions”. The guidance provides uplift factors to account for changes to relative mean sea levels, peak river flood flows, extreme rainfall intensity and storm surges, based on UKCP09. We have found the guidance useful to inform our decisions regarding flood and coastal erosion risk management.

EA/Ofwat/Defra/Welsh government: Water resource and Drought planning guidelines series (2011 and 2012)

This series of publications provides a framework for water companies to follow when developing their water resources plans and drought plans. It sets out good practice, the various approaches to follow and the information that a plan should contain. The guidelines include a defined approach to the assessment of climate change in water resource planning. We have supported the development of the guidelines and followed the stated approaches when developing our water resource plan and drought plan.

Principles underpinning our strategyWe have defined a series of principles to ensure the right balance throughout our climate change strategy. We have ensured our principles align with those that others have described in a number of external publications, such as Principles for Resilience Planning (Ofwat, 20127). Our underlying principles are summarised in three themes:

1. Using the best available evidence and methodologies

Risk-based approach that consider the customer service outcomes

Cost-benefit analysis

Assessments are documented and repeatable

2. Balancing the needs of today and the long-term

A proportionate and pragmatic approach

Capital and operational responses

Maintain and maximise options for the future

Enabling and recognising continual improvement

3. Collaborating for the most effective result

Integrated internally

Expert input from leaders in their field, including academics, colleagues and consultants

External engagement, partnership and support

Recognise dependencies

1. An all-hazards approach to resilience planning

2. Proportionate resilience strategies embedded into corporate governance

3. Third party engagement

4. Resilience planning focused on risk to service outcomes

5. Customer preferences and environmental acceptability for different levels of resilience

6. Broad consideration of intervention options for resilience

7. Using cost benefit analysis to support significant decisions

8. Preparedness for response and recovery

9. Continuous improvement in resilience planning

93 | Appendix 2

Appendix 3Resilience assessment methodologies

Fluvial flooding assessment methodologyWe assessed the fluvial flood risk to our above ground assets by working in partnership with Halcrow consultants. The process started with an initial screening exercise that showed approximately 1,200 assets are located in areas shown to be prone to flooding on latest Environment Agency (EA) fluvial flood maps. We also identified a small number of assets which lay outside the flood map extents but which had a history of flooding.

Prioritising the most critical assets, we then carried out a comprehensive assessment at around 200 sites to establish current levels of resilience and, where data was available, how resilience may be affected by climate change. The site assessments used the best available evidence to produce individual site-specific reports. Evidence used in the assessments included:

• Flood maps and hydraulic models from the EA

• Data from the National Flood and Coastal Defence Database (NFCDD)

• Topographic surveys

• LiDAR data

• Past history of flooding

• Knowledge from asset operators and business experts

The reports include photographs and height data for important equipment, whether the site has flooded before and what impacts it had, and copies of the flood maps and climate change data. Where a site is behind a flood defence, we consulted with the EA to determine their plans for that flood defence in terms of its maintenance regime, what level of protection it offers, and other relevant information.

The impact of climate change on an asset’s level of resilience was assessed where data was available in EA hydraulic models. The age and granularity of these hydraulic models varies. The more modern models have usually had a sensitivity test applied to examine the impact of climate change. Depending on the best model data available for each site, we took the following approach in our assessment, in order of preference:

• Some EA models have been run twice for a 1:200 year event; once with and once without a 20% uplift in peak river flows. The difference between the two runs is added to the results to represent the impact of climate change. Where this is available, the 1:200 year flood level with climate change estimate has been included in our site

resilience assessment and noted below the ‘flood hazard table’ incorporated in site reports.

• Some EA models have been run twice for a 1:100 year event; once with a 20% uplift and once without. The difference between the two runs is added to the levels for a 1:200 year event. Where this approach has been taken it been noted in the site report.

• Some EA models have not been sensitivity tested and climate change impact data is not available. In these cases we have added an additional freeboard allowance for settling, wave crest and uncertainty allowance depending on the nature of the structure being raised up, and the site-specific practicality of doing this, for example sufficient height within the building to raise components. This is in line with current national planning policy which suggests adding a freeboard of 300 mm for hard defences like concrete flood walls, or 500 mm for soft defences like earthen embankments.

The impact of climate change on coastal sites was assessed using government guidance on sea level rise (Environment Agency, 20106). This was used to develop a 50 year estimate for sea level rise of 400 mm. This figure is purely for sea level rise and does not account for changes to wave heights, storm surges or coastal erosion.

Coastal erosion methodologyWe have worked with Arup to complete an assessment of the risk from coastal erosion. This involved one project focused on the priority asset of Withernsea Waste water Treatment Works (WwTW) and another more general asset review. Both projects have used the full range of available data to assess which of our assets are at risk from coastal erosion now and in the future. We performed an initial screen of our assets using the newly published National Coastal and Erosion Risk Mapping (NCERM) dataset. This was commissioned by the EA and provides the best available evidence about future coastal erosion. It shows the projected position of the coastline in three time horizons (2030s, 2050s 2080s) and three probabilities (5, 50 and 95 percentile). The NCERM dataset includes for the effects of climate change and sea level rise within the projections.

Where the NCERM data showed one of our assets to be at risk, we have obtained additional information to provide a more detailed analysis and inform our response. This additional data includes historic maps, observed erosion rates from monitoring stations operated by Local Authorities, LiDAR analysis and commissioned surveys. We have also consulted the relevant coastal plans and policies such as Shoreline Management Plans.

94 | Appendix 3

Documents

Our Blueprint for Yorkshire Climate change strategy · minimising future climate change. It is imperative that we respond ... Shaping customer and stakeholder behaviour 22 A3: