Drainage and Wastewater Management Plan

The water you use, whether that’s from your toilet flushing or from rain that comes off roofs and roads needs to be collected, treated and sent safely back to the environment.  A changing climate, more extreme weather events and a growing population in the North West present challenges for how we manage your used water over the long term. We need to plan to reduce any effect on our wastewater services and the experience customers have.

We are developing a 25-year Drainage and Wastewater Management Plan (DWMP), which will set out our long-term approach for sustainable drainage and wastewater management across the North West and how we intend to make sure that the region thrives now and in the future.

The DWMP assesses the effects of future pressures on our wastewater systems over the short, medium and long term, and what can be done to address these issues – in partnership with others where possible. The DWMP will play a big part in how we work in the coming years as it will influence our future business plans to make sure that we are doing the right thing for the region both now and in the long term.

The North West is made up of different areas we call catchments. By splitting the region into catchments we can manage, protect and enhance the water environment as an entire system, rather than looking at isolated challenges. The map below shows you the different catchments in your region.

To help us produce this plan, we’ll be looking at three key areas: flooding, environment and wastewater treatment as highlighted below. This will help us understand how a growing population and more extreme weather might prevent us from delivering the services that keep your toilets flushing.

By working with other partners to plan for the future now, we can lead the way in sustainable and resilient growth in our towns and cities. It will allow us to manage the risks, mitigating and adapting to climate change, with robust infrastructure. 

We have now published our draft DWMP which you can read and provide feedback by exploring the links below.