Managing water supply for the trial HDD

The HDD requires a constant supply of water. We have investigated several different options for securing an appropriate water supply.

The options we are currently looking into further are:

• Working with the water companies to arrange a supply connection to the mains water supply.
• Transporting water by road, in tankers. At this stage we have based our assessment on this option to be sure that impacts are identified and robust measures to protect the environment are implemented.

Options that have been ruled out include:

• Taking water from the Humber – this option would require removing salt and other minerals from the water. This option would need additional machinery, the operation of which would impact on more sensitive habitats.
• Taking water from streams and drainage ditches – this option would not guarantee a continuous water supply, as the amount of water in the ditches depends on the weather.
• Taking water from underground sources – this would not guarantee the amount of water needed. Also, detailed assessments would be required, and this would cause a delay to the project.
• Transportation of water via boat – this would require new moorings to be created on sensitive protected habitats.