ALTON'S Weysprings borehole could be reopened by South East Water to secure a supply to the area for the next 25 years. The proposal has shocked campaigners who fought an eight-year battle to get the borehole closed in 2003 due to over-abstraction. SEW recently held a series of exhibitions across its supply area, including one at Alton Assembly Rooms, to explain the process of ensuring its supply over the next 25 years. This is "in a region experiencing increased pressure on resources and rising demand for water as a result of rapid population growth," said SEW. It continued: "The company is currently preparing its latest Water Resource Management Plan which will cover a 25-year period from 2010. "The draft plan, to be published in the spring, will bring together the best options for delivering the water that will be needed to meet customer demand. "At this stage, we are considering a large number of options before deciding which ones we consider are the best proposals to take forward for full consultation. "One of these early options is to consider refurbishing our borehole at Weysprings to abstract water from the underground aquifer, but to combine this with a river augmentation scheme to ensure flows in the river are properly maintained. "We fully realise the sensitivities associated with this newer option, however, we do have an obligation to look at everything when it comes to planning water supplies for 25 years ahead. "We would stress that at this stage this is just a consideration we have to make, and it is certainly not a firm proposal." An SEW spokesman explained that the Weysprings idea would be to take water from the borehole and, at the same time, when needed, to pump water from downstream back to Alton to maintain the flow in the river. The review into SEW's resources will continue into 2008, in consultation with the Environment Agency, Ofwat, Defra, and Natural England. The aim is to publish a draft Water Resources Management Plan in the spring when more specific schemes will have emerged and when it will be clear whether Weysprings could provide the extra water. At that time there will be more detailed public consultation and meetings with stakeholders and any interested individuals and groups with publication of the final plan expected in summer 2009, once it has been approved by the Secretary of State for the Environment. There has been criticism of SEW for failing to publicise its Alton exhibition and for trying to break a promise made eight years ago that the Weysprings borehole had been closed for good. The then chairman of the Northern Wey Trust, former town councillor Paddy Mendham, was a force behind the campaign to shut the borehole down – a scheme that involved the installation of a pipeline to bring new water from the River Thames. The borehole was closed at a ceremony presided over by Alan Titchmarsh in March 2003 following a long campaign supported by a petition signed by 7,500 people who wanted to restore water to the Wey in Alton. Mr Mendham said he was "appalled" to hear that there were plans afoot to reopen the borehole, especially since he still has letters from SEW to the then Secretary of State for the Environment promising that the borehole would no longer be used. Alton Friends of the Earth played a part in the campaign, led by the late Mark Pike, and they too are upset by the proposal. FoE's Bill Jabelman points out: "The cessation of water abstraction from the borehole in 2003 restored the seasonal flow of the river, a winter bourne, and allowed Flood Meadows in Alton to flourish once again. "The source of the Wey in Alton plays a valuable part in supporting the rich and varied wildlife along the river's total length." He added: "Reopening the borehole would be a short-term solution and put at risk an important amenity for residents of Alton." Speaking on behalf of the Northern Wey Trust, recent-past chairman Dr David McLellan was "shocked" to hear the news, adding that since abstraction ceased in the spring of 2003 the weather and fluctuating ground water levels had made it very difficult to assess the impact on the river. Having only just been made aware of it, the Northern Wey Trust has said it will be closely monitoring the progress of SEW's Resource Management Plan and in particular the future for the Weysprings borehole.
