Natural Capital and our climate change adaptation
December 17, 2024
Underpinned by our Purpose, protecting and enhancing our region’s natural capital is critical to securing long-term resilience for our water supplies, effective drought management, and ensuring our blue and green spaces thrive. The intrinsic relationship that water has with a flourishing environment means we address our impact in various ways; from managing water resources to prevent future drought and protecting the 49 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in our region, to delivering nature-based solutions, alongside others, to provide benefits at landscape scale.
The challenge
Creating and enhancing natural capital in our region including water, habitats, soils and biodiversity, is a key priority for us. We depend on natural capital to provide the water we put into supply, and we have an impact on natural capital when we return water to the environment. The natural assets we own provide benefits in terms of water quality, and opportunities for recreation for the communities we serve.
While climate change poses a risk to the various forms of natural capital, we also recognise that natural capital offers an opportunity to meet future needs including river restoration to facilitate natural flood management and treatment wetlands to reduce our impact on river health.
Our climate change adaptation
We’re proud of our track record, with 99% of our sites considered to be in favourable condition against a national average of just 38.23%. In October 2021, we were highly commended for ‘best practice practical nature conservation for a large site’ at the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management(CIEEM) Awards commending our wetland restoration work at Tetney Blow Wells.
We’re working on more than 200 environmental schemes through partnerships with environmental organisations like Rivers Trusts and Wildlife Trusts.
Developing a natural capital plan for the East of England
Working with Water Resources East, we’ve joined forces with Biodiversity, supported by WWFUK and the Coca Cola Foundation, to develop a stakeholder-led natural capital plan for Eastern England.
The plan takes account of feedback from a broad range of organisations to develop a shared vision for restoration of nature and identify where natural capital action should be prioritised to deliver outcomes for nature, water and people.
Get River Positive
We first Setout our long-term goal to improve ecological quality across our catchments in2007 and have worked with a wealth of partners to help us do so. In 2022, we launched our ‘Get River Positive’ initiative leading on a range of multi-sector projects working with a range of beneficiaries including the agricultural community and landowners.
So far, we have allocated £7 million of shareholder funding to 53 collaborative projects, which has generated a further £9 million in match-funding. For example, we have:
• Supported the Norfolk Rivers Trust at Holkham, on the River Stiff key to transform the river back to its original state, reconnect it to the floodplain, reduce sediment build up and facilitate natural flood management to accommodate the more extreme floods. This, in turn, will support biodiversity and boost carbon storage.
• Supported the community to achieve inland bathing water status for the River Debden, establishing a farm cluster group to support regenerative agriculture opportunities and supporting improvements to ecological health, through investments to reduce the levels of phosphate and storm spills.
• Started work on our new treatment wetland in Stagsden, Bedfordshire on the River Ouse. The wetland will be modelled on our flagship River Ingol wetland in Norfolk which was the first of its kind in England. Wetlands operate as natural treatment plants for millions of litres of water, whilst providing a habitat and a flourishing haven for wildlife.
• In 2019 we had success reintroducing beavers as natural flood defences on Spain's Hall Estate - with benefits experienced during Storm Henk in 2024. Since then, we have continued at pace reintroducing beavers at sites in Finchingfield Brook, Rushden Lakes, and another site in Suffolk – where we are also supporting the creation of a wetland.
Advanced WINEP
We have sought to go above and beyond and consider how we can deliver additional benefits for our customers and the environment at minimal cost through our Advanced WINEP(A-WINEP). Building on our traditional WINEP programme, A-WINEP will look to develop opportunities for partnership working and innovative funding models.
Increasing biodiversity
Biodiversity Net Gain is one way we are enhancing natural capital in the region. It encompasses our approach to development and land management, which aims to leave the natural environment in a measurably better state than beforehand.
We are committed to delivering a 10% net gain across capital schemes and land management activities, where we may have a material impact on biodiversity. In2023/24, we delivered a Biodiversity Net Gain of 92%. Our progress has included:
• Underway with woodland enhancement and management at our Offord Intake site.
• Partnering with Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust to launch the Rutland Osprey Project. In 2021, we reached a significant milestone, the successful fledging of our 250th Osprey chick.
· Working to support the declining Shrill Carder Bee, implementing changes to the management of grassland habitats at operational sites in the Thames Gateway area.
Nutrient Neutrality
In March 2022,Natural England advised water companies and local planning authorities that plans and projects in certain areas increase nutrient levels beyond acceptable limits. Habitat Regulations state activities which would cause further damage to an at-risk site can only proceed when the impact is mitigated. This means neutralising the nutrients, rather than adding them.
For developments, this means demonstrating no net increase in nutrient levels within certain catchments, by for example, constructing wetlands, making changes to land management, or retrofitting Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems.
While nutrient neutrality is a new challenge, our work with the Norfolk Rivers Trust, William Morfoot and landowner James Wilson, to create a wetland treatment solution, downstream of a water recycling centre and the river Ingol, is a template for future nature-based solutions.