Nick Measham, the chief executive of the group, said: “It is extremely frustrating to spend our time objecting again to a drought order because Southern Water has failed to do its job properly.
“Southern Water promised in 2018 it would use all best endeavours to provide alternative solutions to pumping the Test below safe limits. We will be lucky to see any meaningful alternatives before the mid-2030s – nearly a decade late. This is a delay the salmon cannot afford.”
‘Dark plume’ of sewage
Southern said it had a range of environmental monitoring and mitigation measures in place.
The application to draw more water from the Test comes a month after Southern pleaded guilty to discharging a “dark plume” of sewage into a four-mile stretch of the river.
The Environment Agency, which discovered the incident during a routine water quality check, also criticised the company for failing to alert authorities.
In addition to the drought order, Southern has applied for a “non-essential use ban” which will crack down further on the use of water by businesses.
The fresh measures would ban leisure centres and gyms from filling swimming pools and could also force car washes to close.
Southern Water supplies around 2.6 million homes across Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex and Hampshire.
A spokesman for the company said: “This isn’t a choice between protecting the river and supplying customers. We have to do both. The drought order process helps ensure we can maintain essential water supplies to customers during an exceptional drought.
“Were it implemented, it would be covered by the regulations which are designed to balance environmental protection with the needs of communities that rely on the River Test for their water supply.”
A Defra spokesman said: “We are working closely with the Environment Agency, water companies, farmers, and environmental organisations to protect water supplies and minimise environmental damage.
“We all have a role to save water in these unprecedented times, and any drought order must weighed up carefully against impacts to nature and people.”