Sewers and Water Supply: Runnymede and Weybridge
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of additional house building on the resilience and capacity of a) water and b) sewerage systems in the Runnymede and Weybridge area.
Answered by Emma Hardy
Water companies have a statutory duty to provide a secure supply of water and wastewater provision for customers. Companies set out how they plan to meet and continue to meet these duties through statutory Water Resources Management Plans, and Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans. Water companies must maintain their plans and are required to review the plans to take account of changes, such as new housing growth.
Defra’s Water Delivery Taskforce, established in Spring 2025, is working to ensure that water supply and wastewater capacity can support housing growth. It does this by holding water companies to account for delivering planned investment and by addressing cross-sector challenges that may affect infrastructure capacity and resilience.
The National Planning Policy Framework makes it clear that local planning authorities should collaborate with each other and with other public bodies to identify relevant strategic matters to be addressed, including providing for sustainable water supplies.
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