Thames Water has announced radical changes to the way it will charge for water and wastewater connections – the water company said that transparency and competition would further enable growth.
Image: Helen Bishop presents at Thames Water's Developer Services Day in late January
Feedback from customers has helped to shape the new model which will come into force on 1st April. A new online calculator will also enable housebuilders to easily estimate the water company’s financial contribution towards new water mains and sewers.
The UK’s largest water and wastewater provider said it will fix the cost of many connection services and publish the charges, to provide customers with price certainty and make it easier to estimate costs.
A new combined infrastructure charge for a water and wastewater connection will cost £350, less than half the present cost. The charges help to fund necessary improvements to Thames Water’s network to ensure there is sufficient water supplies and sewerage capacity for respective new developments.
Thames said the move will additionally aid competition in the market, allowing alternative providers (such as self-lay providers) to supply customers with competitive quotes and connections.
Thames Water’s developer services manager, Helen Bishop, said:
“We’ve consulted widely on our plans and by simplifying our processes and providing greater transparency we’re playing our part in supporting growth across our region.”
“The combined benefits of published, fixed connection and lower infrastructure charges is great news for housebuilders, and we’ll continue to work closely with them to support the government’s growth agenda going forwards.”
Thames Water hosted a Developer Services Day in January for over 100 major housebuilders and consultants about the new charging arrangements to ensure customers fully understand what the new charges mean.
Sulzer has launched a new global Center of Excellence (CoE) for Water Treatment Solutions - the CoE consolidates Sulzer’s wastewater treatment expertise in a unified and global manner.
“SAS (Surplus Activated Sludge) is a bit weird and 
Owen Mace has taken over as Director of the British Plastics Federation (BPF) Plastic Pipes Group on the retirement of Caroline Ayres. He was previously Standards and Technical Manager for the group.
PureTec Separations, the Ledbury-based water treatment engineering firm, has appointed Dan Norman as its new Sales Manager – Water Process Systems, supporting the company’s continued growth in the UK and international markets.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.