DWMP28 Options Identification PMEN

Description

United Utilities is developing its statutory Drainage and Wastewater Management Plan (DWMP28) in accordance with government guidance published in 2025. The DWMP sets out how United Utilities will plan for, and maintain, a resilient and sustainable drainage and wastewater system over a minimum 25 year planning horizon, taking account of current and future risks, pressures and uncertainties. The DWMP28 considers how the drainage and wastewater system can continue to operate effectively in the face of increasing external pressures that threaten long term resilience, including in particular: • Population and customer behaviour, increasing household wastewater demand and placing additional pressure on sewer networks and wastewater treatment capacity; • Development, including the growth of specialist developments such as data centres, which can generate additional wastewater or altered effluent characteristics from cooling processes, creating localised challenges for network and treatment capacity; • Climate change, resulting in more frequent and intense rainfall events that place increasing pressure on sewer networks, wastewater treatment works (WwTWs) and receiving environments.; Taking these pressures into account, United Utilities is progressing risk‑based assessments alongside future scenario analysis to understand emerging risks to wastewater network capacity, WwTW capacity and environmental performance across the planning period. We are now progressing the options development and appraisal stage of DWMP28 to identify interventions that could mitigate these risks and deliver best value outcomes. While United Utilities has developed an initial range of potential options internally, we understand the importance of considering a wide range of solutions and working collaboratively with external stakeholders. To ensure opportunities are not overlooked, we are seeking to engage with the market and other organisations to identify alternative or complementary options that could be evaluated alongside those developed internally.