Tap water is best ever

Robert ‘Bugsy’ Hawkins (right) and his son Ashley, from Castle Hill Contracting of Fenny Bridges, Ottery St Mary, who have just finished digging South West Water’s new borehole at Ottery St Mary

A report published today (Thursday 12 July) by the Drinking Water Inspectorate shows a compliance rate of 99.99% to its tough quality standards - South West Water's best ever result, and well above the national average of 99.96%.

The results mean South West Water, which supplies its 1.6 million customers with around 349 mega litres (79 million gallons) of drinking water from its 29 water treatment works every day, has the best tap water quality of Britain's water and sewerage companies.

South West Water's Director of Operations, Stephen Bird, said: "We are absolutely delighted with these results.

"They are testament to the efforts of our staff, who work tirelessly all year round to ensure that the water we produce is of the highest possible quality.

"This year we built a £3 million new service reservoir for Newquay, spent £4 million upgrading the filters at Tottiford Water Treatment Works in Devon and pioneered an advanced treatment process at Drift Water Treatment Works in West Cornwall.

"It's also great news for our customers, because every time they turn on the tap they can be sure they are getting some of the best water available not only in this country but also the world."

The publication of the Drinking Water Inspectorate's report, Drinking Water 2011, wraps up a good year for South West Water. Highlights include:

• No water restrictions planned for a sixteenth consecutive summer
• First new borehole for 18 years
• Industry-leading leakage record - target met for thirteenth consecutive year
• Industry awards for BeachLive (www.beachlive.co.uk) and Upstream Thinking
• Record number of bathing waters (95.1%) hitting the EU's highest standards

Notes to editors

• Every year, South West Water takes and analyses thousands of samples of drinking water from across the region, including water from customers' taps, water treatment works and treated water (service) reservoirs
• The Drinking Water Inspectorate is appointed to independently scrutinise the quality of drinking water in England and Wales and publishes an annual report covering the previous calendar year
• The report covers water quality testing and results, consumer perceptions of drinking water, incidents and technical audit activity, presents feedback from consultation with local authorities and health professionals and summarises current and future work
• In 2014 South West Water will submit its business plan for the years ahead to the UK water industry regulator Ofwat. We are inviting customers to find out more and tell us what they think our priorities should be at www.southwestwater.co.uk/waterfuture

Published: 12 July 2012

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