East Anglia is one of Britain's most water-stressed regions. A proposal to add 1 million people would place enormous additional demand on already constrained supplies. This page explains what "serious water stress" means, where water comes from locally, and what the regional plan says.
What does serious water stress mean?
The Environment Agency classifies areas according to water stress based on the balance between demand and sustainable supply. The "Water stressed areas – 2021 classification" (documented on GOV.UK) determines which regions face the greatest pressure. Eastern England is classified as an area of serious water stress.
This classification reflects that demand in the region is already close to or exceeding what can be sustainably supplied from existing sources.
- It triggers specific regulatory measures—for example, requirements for water companies to promote metering and reduce leakage.
- It informs long-term water resources planning.
Where does water come from locally?
Water in the region is supplied by companies including Cambridge Water and Anglian Water. Much of the supply comes from chalk aquifers—underground reserves in chalk rock. These aquifers also feed chalk streams, which are ecologically sensitive. Over-abstraction damages chalk streams and their dependent wildlife.
Cambridge Water's 2024 Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP) summary states that the Environment Agency has classified its operating area as serious water stress. It describes a combined challenge: growing population demand alongside large reductions in abstraction from chalk aquifers intended to protect chalk streams—reductions amounting to more than half of current water availability over time. The company must manage this deficit while meeting demand.
What is the regional plan?
- Water Resources East coordinates regional water planning. Demand forecasts and technical reports state that the region is expected to experience "significant pressures" from both demand and supply constraints.
- An Anglian Water "Shared Standards" document, produced with Cambridge Water, the Environment Agency, and Natural England, explicitly frames East of England as affected by water scarcity. It cites the region's low rainfall and links the issue to constraints on sustainable growth and local plan delivery.
Major new reservoirs are planned but take decades to deliver. GOV.UK has announced progress on reservoirs described as the "first major reservoirs in 30 years". That framing underlines why water infrastructure is slow, expensive, and politically sensitive.
What would 1 million people mean for demand?
A city of 1 million people would add roughly 150–200 million litres of daily demand (depending on per capita use) to a region already under serious stress. There is no published water strategy from the Forest City 1 developers that sets out how this would be supplied, when, and at what cost. The regional water companies have not publicly identified a pathway for supplying a development of this scale.
For our analysis of the developer's water claims, see our water supply claim page.
Stop Forest City