The company is predicting that, due to the effects of climate change and the increasing population, the deficit could hit the Island by 2045 – if nothing is done.
As part of its submission for the government’s proposed new Island Plan, the company is calling for La Gigoulande Quarry in St Peter’s Valley – currently used by Granite Products – to be turned into a new reservoir.
It is currently earmarked to be used as an inert waste landfill.
However, according to Jersey Water, the potential new facility could provide the Island with 30% of its supplies – only slightly less than Val de La Mare reservoir.
Helier Smith, chief executive of Jersey Water, said that any new Island Plan needed to incorporate a water strategy to ensure there were sufficient supplies for years to come.
‘As an island with only 120 days of water storage when full, we are vulnerable to water shortages and drought. We need to begin work now to address the supply and demand deficit identified in our Water Resources Management Plan. It is important that the Island Plan recognises this strategic issue that will have multi-generational implications,’ he said.
‘The development of a Water Strategy within the Island Plan will help us ensure that water resources are considered alongside all of the other issues that need to be dealt with.’
He added: ‘The potential repurposing of La Gigoulande Quarry as a water storage reservoir represents a unique, once in a lifetime, opportunity to secure a key piece of infrastructure for the benefit of the Island that, if ignored, will never present itself again.
‘Filling the quarry with inert waste provides a temporary solution for solid-waste management. Filling the quarry with water provides a permanent water resource for the Island for centuries to come.’
The company has also said that other measures could include more desalination, the extension of existing reservoirs and water recycling.
Simon, Clowes, general manager for Granite Products, said in a statement: ‘We understand this is one of a number of speculative ideas put forward by Jersey Water and it’s something we can discuss with them. La Gigoulande is a working quarry that meets the Island’s need for core building materials and we expect it will continue to do so for many years to come.’
