Portsmouth Water Limited is working towards achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030. This will require transitioning to low emissions vehicles, implementing water and energy saving measures, reducing process emissions, increasing renewable power generation, and using green gas. As a water company, they have fewer options than other utilities to help achieve net zero. Portsmouth Water is exploring installing solar panels at 11 treatment sites, which could generate 25% of their power needs. They are also committed to planting trees as part of the water industry's pledge to plant 11 million trees by 2030 to capture carbon and provide other environmental benefits. However, identifying suitable land and overcoming practical challenges will be important to meeting this tree planting commitment.

1. 25th January 2021
Nature-based Solutions to
Carbon Storage &
Sequestration
Portsmouth Water Limited
Delivering excellence for our customers, our people and our environment

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Portsmouth Water Limited
Why does Portsmouth even need power???
Source (Havant / Bedhampton)
10 meters above sea level
Treatment (Farlington – rapid gravity filters)
40 meters above sea level
Storage (Nelson – 44 Mld)
80 meters above sea level

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Portsmouth Water Limited
Our transition to net zero carbon by 2030…
The WaterUK Route map is a bold
commitment to get to net zero as a
sector…. develop detailed
regional plans that will address the
big challenges, and protect
customers.
1. Low emissions vehicles
2. Water and energy saving
3. Process emissions
4. Renewable power
5. Green gas
As a ‘water only’ company, we have
fewer options to help us deliver net
zero carbon delivery….

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Portsmouth Water Limited
Our solar aspiration – use what we generate.. where we can…
• 3,300km mains network with 18 water treatment works and 21 different water sources
supplying 170 million litres of water per day and covering an 868 square kilometre
supply area. The company serves 316,000 household customers with over 722,000
people using our water every day
• Our network is gravity fed… so pumping storage using
solar energy is incredibly efficient.
• 11 sites have been initially identified suitable for
development of solar assets…..
Which will generate about 25% of our needs
• But there are real challenges to overcome
• Carbon neutrality will come not just from alternative
generation sourced but from a fundamental shift
in the way we do business…….

5. Tree Planting Commitment
Portsmouth Water Limited
Delivering excellence for our customers, our people and our environment

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Portsmouth Water Limited
English water companies commit to planting 11 million trees by 2030
• Water UK in 2019 announced an ambitious plans to plant 11 million trees, part of a wider
commitment to improve the natural environment, to support their goal of achieving a net zero
carbon water industry by 2030. This was part of their Public Interest Commitment
https://www.water.org.uk/news-item/water-industry-reaffirms-pledge-to-work-in-the-public-
interest/
• The expected outcomes of the tree planting programme will be:
Water quality benefits through filtration and soil stabilisation.
Water quantity benefits in terms of ‘slowing the flow’.
Enhancing biodiversity.
Improved air quality
Contribution to carbon emissions reduction through carbon capture.
Improving aesthetics of places, contributing to public leisure and recreation.
Creating green spaces improves health and wellbeing.
Wider society benefits include shelter for land, livestock and operational assets.
Also the benefit from stimulating the market for woodland products and developing the skills
this requires, for example through apprenticeships.
Commercial benefits and contribution to rural economies – timber, fruit, production of other
forest goods and services.

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Portsmouth Water Limited
HOW!
Water UK set up a Tree Planting Group from all the water
companies ecology teams. They came up with a set of Key
Principles of how the 11 million trees were going to be planted.
The main issues were:-
• The suitability of land, the right tree in the right place
• Water company site are operational
• Habitats already present on the land
• Amount of land owned
• INNS
• Plastic and Pesticides
• Budget
Outcome of the groups was that the tree planting commitment will
be verifiable and based on additional plantings, not replacements,
ensuring a substantial net gain to woodland, carbon sequestration
and other ecosystem services such as flood prevention.

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Portsmouth Water Limited
So the practical issue still remains.
Where and how?