Here our short video explains what water neutrality is and why it was so
critical in protecting water supply to every home in our district.
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What was Water Neutrality?
The problem
We are living in the most over-stressed water supply zone in the country It’s called the Sussex North Water Resource Zone (SNWRZ) and is served by Southern Water (SW). Click here to see the Sussex North Water Resource Zone map, see image also to the left.
The area extends from Crawley through Horsham, Pulborough, Arundel to Chichester. This serious problem is largely due to mass housebuilding across our region over recent decades, which massively increased demand on the finite water supply available to be drawn at Hardham, near Pulborough.
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The solution
The lack of water supply was recognised by the Government’s Environment Agency (EA) and Natural England (NE) and other stakeholders, including Southern Water and the affected District Councils. So, Natural England developed the policy of “water neutrality” and robustly and unambiguously defined what this means;
“The definition of water neutrality is the use of water in the supply area before the development is the same or lower after the development is in place”
To meet the water neutrality test any development on rural land, which will inevitably introduce very significant new water demand ,will need to show that it can match (or better) this new demand through offset savings on existing buildings.
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In September 2025 Water Neutrality was withdrawn by Natural England.
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You can see the link to their Withdrawal Statement here >
On 14th November 2025 the Environment Agency and DEFRA issued a press release highlighting the increasing and imminent risk of drought. See the Press Release here >
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Southern Water continues to publish Draft Water Management Plans, but these are still subject to amendments, discussions with relevant public bodies and final approval by Defra. See Southern Water’s plans here >
Note the following comment in this document:
These regulatory regimes are novel, and require a novel approach by water companies, including in respect of procurement and delivery. We have raised concerns with regulators that some of the requirements of these processes, if applied strictly, could have the unintended consequence of delaying project delivery. Initial assessments have indicated that without appropriate mitigations in place, the regulatory dates for these schemes included in this plan are at risk. We will be working closely with regulators (in particular Environment Agency and Ofwat) over the coming months to develop these mitigations.
A further summary of details can be viewed here > and drought planning here >. The technical report can be accessed here >
Note ‘Next Steps’ on page 231 suggest they will ‘form an opinion on the likelihood of delivery and possible time frames.’
Our MP, John Milne, held a parliamentary debate on 9th December on water scarcity and the challenges it poses for the UK, “Water shortage is no longer just an environmental issue. It’s becoming a major threat to housing, agriculture, and ultimately economic growth. It’s time to treat it with the urgency it deserves.” It can be viewed here >
MPs seem to agree that the current water provision is already inadequate. There are suggestions of addressing the ownership model, which may be necessary, but does not of itself produce more water, an issue which has been neglected over several decades by water companies and Government agencies alike.
Save Rural Southwater will continue to press for truthful explanations of their plans and clear answers to our continuing questions on the reliability of water supply in our area.