The Friends of the Ems group is trying to protect the drought-stricken River Ems which flows from the South Downs into Chichester Harbour. Chalk streams like the Ems are rare and precious habitats that are home to many endangered species. But large sections of the river have dried up this summer and many fish have died.
The group argues that the Ems is in its current state due to excessive abstraction from the river’s underground sources.
Portsmouth Water says that they are taking significant measures to improve and protect the River Ems to develop sustainable long-term solutions. This includes taking a borehole out of public supply and using it instead to pump water into the Ems during dryer periods when the river needs ‘topping up.’
Recent studies suggest that this hasn’t been as effective as was hoped, and a new trial is underway to improve the impact of the ‘top up’ flow by moving the point from where water is pumped into the Ems. It is predicted that this will ensure more of this ‘top-up’ water remains in the river instead of soaking away. By monitoring the effectiveness of this adjustment looks promising, but will not draw any final conclusions until results can be discussed with the Environment Agency. Meanwhile, Portsmouth Water will continue to pump water into the river Ems until flows recover.
With the lowest levels of rainfall since 1976 together with record high temperatures, water supply demand continues to rise. Despite these challenges, Portsmouth Water says that it is fully committed to continue working to protect the Ems.
In order to seek a long-term solution to reduce abstraction from the river Ems catchment, Portsmouth Water are looking at a number of options including further usage of the Havant Thicket Reservoir scheme and moving all our household customers to adopt metering as a clear way to better understand their usage, and pay only for their consumption rather than a standard charge rate.