RAPID has agreed a request from United Utilities to change the Gate Three date for its North West Transfer Strategic Resource Option (NWT SRO) from March 2025 to December 2026.
RAPID has agreed a request from United Utilities to change the Gate Three date for its North West Transfer Strategic Resource Option (NWT SRO) from March 2025 to December 2026.
Writing on 13 November 2024 to Paul Hickey MD of RAPID, Adam Brammer, Head of Water Trading at the water company explained that the request was based upon three principal changes in scope which impact the current Gate Three programme as folllows:
Change in Preferred Option to achieve WRMP24 Preferred Plan
The utility’s revised draft WRMP and PR24 Business Plan included delivery of three boreholes – Woodford, Tytherington and Aughton Park - to achieve a 25 Ml/d supply with Severn Trent from 2030. However, these were subject to change due to ongoing feasibility assessment through the RAPID gated process. Subsequently, groundwater modelling delivered in collaboration with the Environment Agency (EA) has established that all three options are no longer viable due to unsustainable abstraction.
United Utilities is now proposing a River Bollin abstraction as its preferred option to deliver the 25 Ml/d trade, subject to further feasibility assessment through the RAPID gated process. The change in option will result in a longer delivery programme. United Utilities is anticipating that the trade with Severn Trent will commence in Financial Year 2032/33.
The letter states:
“To mitigate the risk that the River Bollin option is discontinued following further assessment, we will also progress feasibility on alternative options to achieve a 25 Ml/d trade. These are less mature with respect to feasibility and therefore we are proposing that RAPID Gate Three is moved to December 2026 to ensure we can achieve the full requirements of the gated assessment and have confidence in the deliverability of the scheme.”
Change in procurement approach
The preferred River Bollin option has been provisionally assessed as suitable for delivery through Direct Procurement for Customers (DPC). This means United Utilities has included additional activities within the programme associated with managing a DPC staged process. This will include
initial market engagement and the delivery of a DPC Stage 2 submission prior to Gate Three.
‘De-Risking’ of WRMP Adaptive Pathways
RAPID have requested that the Severn to Thames Transfer (STT SRO) project undertakes further work to ‘de-risk’ the scheme should an adaptive pathway be triggered in AMP8 and the SRO is required to quickly mobilise. As a support scheme for the STT SRO the utility have therefore included further option development activity within the NWT SRO to prepare for a potential requirement to deliver an up to 180 Ml/d transfer.
Adam Brammer also clarified that the proposed Gate Three date of December 2026 will only be in relation to the WRMP preferred plan solution for a 25 Ml/d trade with Severn Trent. The potential WRSE adaptive pathway solutions would be subject to separate gate timings if the pathways are triggered in future.
Wrting in response from RAPID on 9 December, Paul Hickey said that the request for additional time for gate three would allow:
- Feasibility assessment of the now proposed preferred option for a 25 Ml/d trade with Severn Trent – River Bollin abstraction.
- Time to carry out additional activities related to the procurement approach for the now proposed preferred option.
- Work to be carried out so that if an adaptive pathway for Severn to Thames Transfer SRO is triggered in AMP8, a potential requirement to deliver up to a 180 Ml/d transfer can be included.
The RAPID chief said:
“ RAPID considers your request to be reasonable and agrees with your proposal to change the gate three submission date from March 2025 to 10 December 2026.“
Paul Hickey concluded by the letter urging that United Utilities should use the time to make sure its gate three submission would meet regulators expectations and to prepare a good quality and complete submission.
“We also expect actions set at gate two to have been addressed in full in the gate three submission,” he added.
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