Striking the right balance... for an even better future
The Office of Water Services (Ofwat) has recently announced increases in prices for water services for the five year period from April 2005. These regrettable increases are needed to ensure we can meet all of the standards set for the coming period. We can now confirm our programme of water quality, environmental improvements and customer service benefits from April 2005 to March 2010.
 Striking the right balance... for an even better future The Office of Water Services (Ofwat) has recently announced increases in prices for water services for the five year period from April 2005. These regrettable increases are needed to ensure we can meet all of the standards set for the coming period. We can now confirm our programme of water quality, environmental improvements and customer service benefits from April 2005 to March 2010.
1990/91 - Where we were ....
- 100% of our customers at risk of, or affected by, hosepipe bans
- Poor compliance with drinking water standards
- 40% of sewage discharges made with little or no treatment
- Over 200 sewage treatment works failing to meet quality standards
- 28 failing bathing waters due to South West Water's sewage discharges
2004/05 - What we've done ....
- No hosepipe bans since 1996
- 99.92% compliance with drinking water standards
- Only 6% of sewage discharges with little or no treatment
- 4.4% of sewage works discharges classified as unsatisfactory
- One failing bathing water due to a South West Water sewage discharge
2009/10 - Where we're going ....
- Even higher drinking water standards
- All South West Water crude sewage discharges closed and replaced with proper treatment
- 98.5% of sewage works discharges classified as satisfactory
- No failing bathing waters due to South West Water's discharges
Plans in the pipeline ....
This year will see the final completion of work to protect the marine environment from untreated sewage discharges – over £1 billion has been invested in this programme to close the 227 untreated sewage discharges we inherited in 1989. In parallel we will be completing a programme of water mains improvements and water treatment upgrading to put the sparkle back into your water. As the number of treatment works, pipelines and other installations has increased, we will be investing in modernisation and repair to ensure they continue to meet the highest customer and environmental standards.
The next five years will see ....
- ... Uprating and improvements at 14 water treatment works to remove traces of compounds that may affect the quality, taste or odour of treated water at the tap.
- ... The final stages of water mains relining to put the sparkle back into your water. We will be tackling internal corrosion of unlined iron pipes which causes discolouration and loss of pressure. Up to March 2010, we will be improving 3,231 km (2,000 miles) of mains, about 20% of our total water supply network. The improvement rate will nearly double that of the period 2000 – 2005.
- ... The upgrading of 49 sewer overflows to minimise their operation in wet weather. More waste water will be taken to sewage treatment works and this will ensure that rivers, estuaries and coastal water quality will benefit significantly.
- ... Better quality of final discharges at 39 sewage treatment works to meet the new standards set by the Environment Agency and English Nature and we will investigate the potential impact that a further 72 discharges have on groundwater and other receiving waters. These programmes have been reviewed in detail and approved by the Government.
- ... Modernisation and renovation of our treatment works and pipelines, an important part of our programme. We now operate 53 sewage treatment works using ultra violet disinfection to protect bathing water quality, and with automation and increasingly sophisticated treatment, need to ensure reliable operation.
- ... The South West continuing to attract new development and we will be uprating our services to meet these demands. The scale of work varies from completely new systems for the two new communities planned east of Plymouth and Exeter, to small scale projects to give 'first time sewerage' to around 450 properties in the region's smaller communities.
- ... Improvements which are planned to deal with sewage works odours and we will also be reducing the risk of sewage flooding of properties during heavy rain. We will be building additional sewer capacity and making other alterations and around 245 properties will be protected through these projects.
- ... Delivery of our plans which will support the communities, the environment and the economy of this very special region.
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