Southern Water has set up Resource Hubs at its wastewater treatment works (WwTW) to investigate how it can make more use of untapped company resources to help local communities.

The water company, which already produces renewable energy from its water treatment processes, is now looking at further options, including:

• how WWTWs can be further used to provide power to local communities
• recycling water to help local farmers grow crops, neighbourhoods grow hanging baskets, and to recharge local rivers
• using heat from the sewers to warm local facilities, such as swimming pools at leisure centres
• enabling local community groups to use its offices and facilities for education
• installing its first battery storage plant to make better use of the renewable energy it already produces

Southern Water is also working with community energy groups such as Bhesco in Brighton and Hove, to explore using equipment at its Peacehaven site to convert local food waste into biogas, which can generate cheaper energy to help the fuel poor.

The utility has carried out the most wide-ranging customer engagement programme in its history to incorporate the views of more than a million customers. Some areas they highlighted included using more renewable energy and promoting water re-use and maximising energy production as a by-product of water treatment process.

 International effort to maximise resource use 

Southern Water is the only UK water company to be working as part of the NEREUS Project, able to win €718,898 of EEC funding. Through the project we're collaborating with other water companies, research organisations, consultants and universities across Europe, to find ways of recovering water, energy and nutrients from wastewater.

These valuable resources could then be made available for agricultural use, to help boost the green economy.

Johnathan Burke, Environment Strategic Planning Manager commented:

"We’re proud to provide essential services to our communities, so making these untapped resources available for everybody’s benefit is another way we can add value to the lives of our customers and stakeholders."