?1.2bn plan to turn sewage waste into drinking water branded a 'white elephant'

Southern Water says it wants to protect rare chalk streams, but campaigners say it could pollute the SolentA proposed ?1.2bn scheme to recycle effluent from the sewage system and turn it in to drinking water has been criticised as a threat to the environment and a potential costly "white elephant".Southern Water wants to treat effluent - wastewater from the sewage system - at a plant at Havant in Hampshire and pipe it into a nearby spring-fed reservoir to boost water supplies during droughts. The scheme would ensure less water is extracted from two rare chalk streams: the Rivers Test and Itchen. Continue reading...