Guest Blog by Rebecca Armstrong The Hearth CIC
Southport was born from water. In 1792, William Sutton built a bathing house in the dunes at South Hawes, named his hotel South Port, and a town grew around it. More than two centuries later, water remains the town’s founding resource — and its most pressing responsibility.
England is facing a water crisis. The Environment Agency warned last year that without urgent action, the country will face a shortfall of five billion litres of water every single day by 2055. In January 2026, the government responded with its biggest overhaul of the water system in a generation — a Water White Paper proposing a new regulator, tougher enforcement, and new responsibilities for businesses of every size.
For Southport, this is not an abstract national story. It is local, and it is urgent.
KEY FACTS
· 5 billion litres per day water shortfall projected by 2055
· 303 properties at high risk of surface water flooding in Churchtown and Crossens alone
· £104 billion of private investment committed to water infrastructure 2025–2030
· 2026 Transition Plan and Water Reform Bill due this year
WHY SOUTHPORT IS PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE
Southport sits on mudstone geology overlaid with blown sand — a combination that means water cannot drain away easily when it rains heavily. Surface water pools, sewers back up, and properties flood. Sefton Council has identified Churchtown, Birkdale and Ainsdale as some of the highest surface water flood risk areas in the country.
The town’s famous dune system is not just beautiful — it is Southport’s natural coastal defence. Research shows that up to 12,500 people in Southport and South Formby live in areas below significant dune erosion level. As climate change increases storm frequency and sea levels rise, that buffer matters more than ever.
Sefton Council’s planned Making Space for Water scheme for the Pool watercourse in Churchtown and Crossens would create landscaped ponds at Preston New Road and Crossens Recreation Ground to hold excess water during heavy rain and release it slowly back into the watercourse. The scheme has been publicly consulted on and submitted to the Environment Agency for funding approval. It is ready to go — and would reduce flood risk to 98 of the worst-affected properties, with benefit to a further 205.
WHAT THE NEW LAW MEANS FOR SOUTHPORT BUSINESSES
The government’s Water White Paper is not just about water companies. It extends new responsibilities to businesses that use, discharge or affect water — which in practice means most businesses in Southport.
Mandatory water efficiency labels on appliances are coming. Sustainable drainage requirements are entering planning policy. Heavier water users face tighter rules on discharge and abstraction. A Water Reform Bill will follow later this year.
The businesses that get ahead of this now will face less disruption — and lower costs — than those that wait.
“The average business wastes around 30% of its water through undetected leaks alone. That is money going down the drain — literally.”
Three things any Southport business can do right now:
1. Check for leaks — a simple meter reading before and after a period of no water use will tell you if water is escaping undetected
2. Fit tap aerators — they reduce water use by up to 50% with no impact on performance and cost a few pounds each
3. Map your water — understand where your water comes from, where it goes, and how your drainage connects to the wider Sefton system
THE BIGGER PICTURE
The Marine Lake, the restored pier, the new Events Centre — all of these assets that Southport has worked so hard to invest in sit within metres of tidal water. The environmental quality of that water matters for tourism, for public health and for the long-term viability of everything the town is building.
Water connects the dunes to the town centre, the Botanic Gardens to the Ribble estuary, the café dishwasher to the coast. When we treat water as something to be managed and cared for — rather than just disposed of — we strengthen those connections. The government’s new framework for joined-up water planning is, in essence, a policy expression of that same idea.
Southport businesses that understand this are not just complying with regulation. They are participating in something larger: the long-term regeneration of a town that intends to be here, and thriving, for generations.
GET INVOLVED
The Hearth Network is developing a water literacy offer for Southport businesses through the CASA Business Network. If you want to get ahead of the new regulations, or be part of shaping what practical water stewardship looks like for local businesses, get in touch at [email protected]
Read the full version of this article — including sources, business guidance by size, and the science of Southport’s water — at https://thehearthnetwork.co.uk/our-blog/f/water-is-everyones-business
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rebecca Armstrong is Co-Director of The Hearth Network CIC, a community interest company based in Southport dedicated to making the town a greener place to live, work and visit. The Hearth Network runs the CASA Business Network, connecting local SMEs to sustainability resources and peer learning. Company No. 16096200 · thehearthnetwork.co.uk
SOURCES & FURTHER READING
National water shortfall — 5 billion litres per day by 2055 Environment Agency, National Framework for Water Resources, June 2025 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/england-faces-5-billion-litre-public-water-shortage-by-2055-without-urgent-action
Water White Paper — £104 billion private investment, 2026 Transition Plan, Water Reform Bill UK Government / Defra, A New Vision for Water, January 2026 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-new-vision-for-water-white-paper/a-new-vision-for-water
1 in 5 homes at flood risk in England Environment Agency, Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Report 2024–25 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/flood-and-coastal-risk-management-national-report/flood-and-coastal-erosion-risk-management-report-1-april-2024-to-31-march-2025
303 properties at high risk of surface water flooding in Churchtown and Crossens Sefton Council, Making Space for Water — Churchtown and Crossens https://www.sefton.gov.uk/environment/flooding/making-space-for-water-churchtown-and-crossens-in-southort/
12,500 people in Southport and South Formby below significant dune erosion level Sefton Coast’s vulnerability to coastal flooding using DEM data https://www.academia.edu/143787546/Sefton_Coast_s_vulnerability_to_coastal_flooding_using_DEM_data
New water responsibilities for businesses — Water White Paper analysis Addleshaw Goddard, January 2026 https://www.addleshawgoddard.com/en/insights/insights-briefings/2026/energy/new-vision-water-governments-overhaul-water-sector-england-wales-really-means/
Southport’s founding history and relationship with water Information Britain — History of Southport https://information-britain.co.uk/history/town/Southport90/
Harmony framework HRH The Prince of Wales, Tony Juniper and Ian Skelly — Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World, HarperCollins, 2010
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