A coastal village is in the running for a multi-million-pound boost after being selected for a major project that could help solve the region’s water crisis.
Anglian Water has chosen Caister-on-Sea as the proposed location to build a desalination plant – which removes the salt from seawater to make it safe to drink.
Although modern forms of the technology have been around since the 1960s, it has advanced rapidly during the last few years and become much cheaper for companies to build and operate.
There are currently just two plants in the UK - one in Beckton in east London and a small plant in Jersey.
The Norfolk proposal comes as the Environment Agency seeks to draft a strategy to overcome a looming crisis in water supplies amid predictions there could be a shortfall of 4,000 million litres per day in less than three decades.
It is estimated the Caister project will cost as much as £385m, as part of Anglian Water’s £9bn investment into the region, and bring new jobs and investment in the area.
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The water company says the plant could produce 25 megaliters of water per day - the equivalent of about 10 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
An Anglia Water spokeswoman said that the plant will “enable us to reduce our existing abstractions from sensitive environments and become more resilient to climate change and drought”.
Kevin Wood, chairman of Caister's parish council, believes creating the plant would be a "positive project" for the community.
He said: “There is already a water shortage in East Anglia and this will only get worse in the future so it is something that is needed.
"Provided it is done correctly and put in the right place, we would support it."
What this means for Norfolk
A lack of water could pose a major threat to the county’s economy.
Norfolk has on average a third less rainfall than the rest of the UK but demand is increasing due to major growth in the region.
The Environment Agency has said it is already concerned about the ability of water companies to maintain adequate water supplies following recent periods of drought, such as in 2022.
It claims that the issue is limiting housing and business growth as there isn't enough water without needing further abstraction from rivers and groundwater sources - which has harmful environmental consequences.
Several industries would benefit from better water security - including farming, brewing and construction.
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The plant would also represent the first arrival to our coast of what is a burgeoning industry, with proposals to build another site in Felixstowe and two new reservoirs in the region.
Paul Wells, Great Yarmouth Borough Council's cabinet member for environmental issues, said: “Security of water supply is crucial for our communities and so I would be keen to explore any option which would help safeguard this essential resource.
“Obviously this proposal is at an extremely early stage, and I look forward to more details in due course.”
Environmental harm
While the scheme could help shore up water supplies, desalination is not without its problems.
It can have harmful environmental effects due to the huge amount of energy needed to run them and the greenhouse gases they produce.
They produce a large amount of brine waste, which can be toxic and cause serious pollution if it is not correctly disposed of, according to the United Nations.
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Current methods involving abstraction are already damaging the habitats of the county’s waterways though.
With the growing challenges of ensuring a steady supply of clean drinking water, desalination, if managed properly, could be a vital part of tackling a future crisis.
What is desalination?
The process removes salt from seawater in order to produce clean drinking water.
This can be done by reverse osmosis, where seawater is forced through a membrane at high pressure that blocks other chemicals from passing through.
Another method works similarly to distillation, heating salt water and then collecting the water vapour to produce fresh water.
At the proposed Caister plant, the treated water would be blended with existing water before supplying households and businesses.
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