My Services
Our commitment
Always clean and safe. Always wonderful. Always on tap. Since day one, that’s our commitment to you. We work hard every single day to make sure that you have a fresh, clean water supply straight to your home. For now, and for future generations.
Safety in numbers
We look after 185 water treatment works and over 46,000km of water mains (that's more than enough to go around the Earth once!) day and night, all year around. We test your water over 500,000 times every year to make sure the highest standards are met for your supply, consistently achieving a pass rate of over 99.9%. We also have 1,100 continuous automatic analysers that track a wide range of parameters to make sure your water is safe and wholesome. It all adds up to a service you can not only trust for clean, fresh water, but you can also rely on long into the future.
Monitoring water quality
When it comes to testing the quality of your wonderful water, we always go the extra mile. We know how important it is to have fresh, clean water on tap straight to your home. We monitor from the source to your tap to maintain the quality of our water at every point of its journey to your home. No shortcuts. No excuses. No compromise.
Putting ourselves to the test
Each year, we collect over 500,000 samples of water from across our network. These samples are then analysed by our water experts in our accredited laboratories, where they’re subjected to millions of individual tests. And that’s only the beginning. We also have 1,100 permanently installed continuous automatic analysers that monitor water quality day and night, all year round. These clever machines test for everything including chlorine, aluminium, iron, nitrate and pH levels in your water supply, helping to keep your water wonderful, fresh and clean for years to come.
Raising the standard
While we’ve made impressive improvements over the past 20 years, we’re always pushing for better results. It’s why we have people working around the clock to ensure the highest standards are maintained, many also work closely with Environmental Health Officers, The Area Health Authority and the Drinking Water Inspectorate in the event of a breach of these standards. This means normal service for your water supply is resumed in double-quick time and new lessons can be taken on board for the future.
Regulations and standards
We take providing wonderful, clean water to you very seriously. It’s why we support stricter laws, tighter regulations and more thorough testing; and why we openly make the information about the quality of your water available. In fact, you can check your own water any time you like.
There to keep you safe
It may seem simple, but access to clean drinking water is essential for your wellbeing. It’s why water standards are so important to us. Like all water companies, it’s our duty and pleasure to monitor water use, collect samples from customers, maintain treatment works and monitor our reservoirs – to name only a few of our responsibilities. The laws and regulations in place make sure we do this to the highest standards and the required frequency to keep your wonderful supply on tap for years to come.
Setting the standard
Water standards use Prescribed Concentrations and Values (PCVs) to clarify the maximum (or sometimes minimum) target parameters. They also state the percentage of samples that must meet this required standard. If a standard is not met it’s immediately investigated and action is taken to fix this. While the vast majority of such cases are minor and temporary in nature, we always report them to the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) for them to investigate further if they wish to.
Schemes and partnerships
CCW
CCW is the independent voice for water consumers in England and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body representing water and sewerage customers. The organisation provides impartial advice. CCW is independent of both the regulator, Ofwat, and all water companies.
Drinking Water Inspectorate
The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) carries out technical audits of water companies, investigates incidents, initiates actions to facilitate compliance with The Water Supply Regulations and provides advice and expertise to government departments on drinking water policy.
Environment Agency (EA)
The EA is a national agency, organised on a regional basis for pollution control, water resource management, flood defence, fisheries, public recreation and conservation. It sets standards for effluents discharged to rivers and monitors the quality of effluents and the natural water environment.
Office of Water Services (OFWAT)
OFWAT is the non-ministerial government department responsible for ensuring customers in England and Wales receive an efficient, good quality water service at a fair price.
Water UK
Water UK represents all UK water and waste water service suppliers at national and European level. They provide a positive framework for the water industry to engage with government departments, regulators, stakeholder organisations and the public.
WaterRegsUK
WaterRegsUK (Water Regulations Advisory Scheme) contributes to the protection of public health by preventing contamination of public water supplies and encouraging the efficient use of water by promoting and facilitating compliance with the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations.
Local authorities
City and district councils have public health responsibilities to oversee the provision of sufficient and wholesome water supplies. Environmental health departments usually administer these functions.