Water companies can refuse to supply water to commercial projects if they don't feel there's enough capacity, bosses say
Water bosses have warned that they can refuse to supply water to commercial organisations if they feel there isn’t enough capacity.
Matt Moore, strategic flood and partnership manager for Anglian Water told members of Lincolnshire County Council’s (LCC) environment scrutiny committee that the rise in Nationally Significant Infrastructure Protects (NSIPs) across Greater Lincolnshire – such as solar farms and hydrogen generation – are putting extra pressure on the water network.
Mr Moore explained to a meeting on Friday, June 19, that water companies had more say within planning applications for commercial projects as opposed to residential housing developments.
And he said that while there is “a lot of pressure” from the Government to “facilitate growth” and build more renewable energy infrastructure, water companies do have the power to refuse supply if the “capacity isn’t there”, with a dedicated team to deal with large projects.
Mr Moore added: “It’s not a popular political thing to do but we can actively refuse a new water connection to a commercial entity if we feel that we don’t have the capacity to deliver it.”