South Staffs Water is forecasting a spend of £191 million between 2015 and 2020, according to its draft business plan which is now out for consultation.

In the plan, which incorporates the plan for Cambridge Water following the merger last year, South Staffs identified five key areas that customers said were of most concern:

• Excellent water quality
• Secure and reliable water supplies
• Delivering an excellent customer experience to customers and the community
• Operations that are environmentally sustainable
• Fair customer bills and fair investor returns

More than 1,500 household customers and 400 business customers were asked for their views via surveys, workshops, interviews and focus groups on certain topics.

If all of the proposals outlined in the draft business plan are implemented, it will mean that, on average, households will pay an extra 53 pence per year, as at today’s prices.  The company is confident that between now and 2020 customers will continue to pay 20% less for their water than the national average.

Included in its business plan is a major spend on up to four nitrate removal stations to help secure a reliable water supply. Small amounts of nitrates can seep into aquifers, rivers and streams from farming and excess levels must be removed from supplies.

Three Nitrate Removal stations are 25 years old. Two of these are now beyond economical repair, and the third will need replacing from 2015. There is also one additional site with rising nitrate levels and the most cost effective solution is to install a new nitrate treatment plant, South Staffs said. Each scheme will cost around £3 million.

South Staffs also intends to spend majorly on up to four storage reservoirs, as they are risks to water quality and in danger of failing. The company has identified two further reservoirs that will need significant work in the next 7 to 10 years.

Keith Marshall, Acting Managing Director for Cambridge Water said:

“We are committed to listening to our customers and acting on their views so that we continue to provide a service that meets our customers’ needs.  But, we also need to face up to challenges such as rising energy costs, population growth and a struggling economy, so it’s really important to us that we know the direction that our customers want us to take the company in so that we can align customer views with the challenges of the years ahead.”

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