Castle Water has applied to Ofwat for a wholesale authorisation to be added to its existing water supply licence and sewerage licence.- in order to progress a water supply pilot project - the Didcot Project – which was awarded funding in the first round of the Ofwat Innovation Fund.

The project is being used as a feasibility study into whether smaller package schemes serving local customers would benefit the market. The project would allow Castle Water to supply treated water to Castle Water customers in the Thames Water area. Castle Water can only progress a Combined Supply application with Thames Water if it has already obtained a Wholesale Authorisation.

This is a joint project between Bristol Water, RWE, Binnies and Castle Water to understand the feasibility of taking water abstracted from the Thames, treating it to DWI standard and inputting into the Thames Water network.

If granted, this will enable the business retailer to introduce water into Thames’ public water networks in order to supply the Castle Water’s own customers whose non-household premises consume at least 5 megalitres of water a year..

German-headquartered energy firm RWE own an abstraction right on the Thames for use at the Didcot power plant water cooling towers. The abstraction rights of up to 20ML/day were changed to be multi-purpose to allow us to use the water to be used and piped to a bespoke water treatment plant, designed by Binnies to reach DWI standard. Bristol Water will operate the Water Treatment Works and the water will then enter the Thames Water network via a Thames Water main located close by. Castle Water will use this to serve its own non-household customers who consume at least 5 megalitres of water per annum.

Deadline to make written representations or objections about the application to Ofwat is 15 September 2023.