Biodiversity PC 2025-2030
What’s a PC?
Performance Commitments (PCs) are a new target given by Ofwat (the water industry regulator) to monitor Water Companies performances in AMP8. They employ financial and reputational incentives for us to outperform our commitments and incur a financial penalty should we underperform.
The biodiversity PC requires all water companies to demonstrate an improvement to biodiversity on nominated land and to also ensure there is no deterioration to biodiversity across all other company owned-owned sites.
Green Winged Orchids at disused Pump Station near Bishops Waltham, 2019
Priority Habitat definition
Priority Habitats under the Joint Nature Conservation Committee definition are semi-natural habitat types identified as being the most threatened and requiring conservation actions within the UK. Portsmouth Water Priority Habitat sites have been identified through our ecological surveys.
Biodiversity Improvements
The PC requires biodiversity to be improved on company owned land during 2025-2030 (AMP8 Period). This is measured using biodiversity units, which is a measurement developed by Natural England that values wildlife based on the size and quality of the habitat. The PC requires improvements of 0.73 biodiversity units per 100km2 of the companies supply area, which equates to 6.34 units for Portsmouth Water.
Biodiversity units can only be assessed on sites nominated for the PC. They are calculated by comparing the units recorded in the initial survey with those recorded in a follow-up survey conducted after four years.
We have nominated 4 sites for the PC and have created bespoke management plans to enhance biodiversity.
These plans include cut and collect mowing and reseeding to improve the ecological value of the grassland on these sites.
Pond maintenance being undertaken by hand at Westergate, October 2021
A third of the most dominant species is removed before the first frost following wet weather to improve the diversity of life in the pond and enable more light to penetrate the vegetation.
No deterioration
As well as improving biodiversity across nominated sites, the Biodiversity PC also requires that there be no deterioration of biodiversity across all other company land. All PW land has a management plan which has been created using ecological surveys, expert advice and health and safety requirements to enhance and conserve the sites biodiversity value as well as meeting their functional needs.
However, due to the operational nature of the majority of our sites, there will be required work undertaken that may cause a temporary loss in biodiversity. Therefore, to achieve no deterioration, we will aim to ensure that any work undertaken on our sites reinstate the land properly so that the biodiversity is able to recover within 18 months of the project completion to the pre work standard.
Find out more about Portsmouth Waters Ecological Surveys and more on the managing sites for Biodiversity page by pressing the button below:
It is necessary to manage areas for biodiversity, rather than just simply leave them, to prevent infringement of lower-value habitats onto more high value local habitats. For example, chalk grasslands support a greater diversity of indigenous species and are maintained through grazing or cutting on several sites.
Portsmouth Waters Roboflail
Reservoir bank on Portsdown Hill, June 2016