A £1.2bn scheme to recycle effluent from the sewage system and turn it into drinking water has been branded a threat to the environment and a potential costly “white elephant”.
Southern Water wants to treat effluent – wastewater from the sewage system – at a plant at Havant in Hampshire and pipe it into a nearby spring-fed reservoir to boost water supplies during droughts. The scheme would ensure that less water is extracted from two rare chalk streams: the rivers Test and Itchen.
