Cambridge Water Company

Offices of Cambridge Water Company on Fulbourn Road

Cambridge Water, a trading name of South Staffordshire Water plc, ^{[1] [2]} is a water supply utility company serving Cambridge and the surrounding area.

Cambridge University and Town Waterworks Act 1853
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Citation	16 & 17 Vict. c. xxiii
Dates
Royal assent	14 June 1853
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Cambridge University and Town Waterworks Company was established by the Cambridge University and Town Waterworks Act 1853 (16 & 17 Vict. c. xxiii). The Cambridge Water Company was privately owned until became a public limited company by the Cambridge Water Company (Constitution and Regulation) Order 1996 (SI 1996/713).

Cambridge Water plc was sold to CK Infrastructure Holdings (CKI) in 2004, ^[3] but was sold on to HSBC in 2011. The sale was made because CKI wanted to acquire Northumbrian Water, and retaining Cambridge Water would have resulted in the takeover of Northumbrian Water being referred to the Competition Commission. ^[4] All the assets and liabilities were transferred to South Staffordshire Water on 1 April 2013, after which Cambridge Water plc ceased to trade. ^[5] The Cambridge Water name continues to be used by South Staffordshire Water in the former Cambridge Water area.

Cambridge Water is a water supplier only and does not provide wastewater services. ^[6] Anglian Water provides wastewater services to Cambridge Water customers.

Controversies

In 2022, Cambridge Water admitted that it failed to inform over a thousand of its customers that it had supplied water contaminated with four times the permitted amount of a 'forever chemical', known as perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). People in the Stapleford and Great Shelford area received contaminated water supplies, derived from an aquifer near Duxford Airfield in June 2021. The water company refused to say how long customers had been receiving contaminated supplies, but stated that it had diluted water from that aquifer with water from other sources so as to lower the level of pollutant. ^[7]

Bibliography

• Ofwat (2006). "The Development of the Water Industry in England and Wales" (PDF). OFWAT.

References

1. "Terms and Conditions | Cambridge Water".
2. "Requesting new mains and services from South Staffus Water. User Guide" (PDF). www.cambridge-water.co.uk. April 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
3. "Cambridge Water Charges Scheme" (PDF). Ofwat. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
4. Harrington, Ben (2 August 2011). "Asian tycoon Li Ka-shing to buy Northumbrian Water". Daily Telegraph.
5. "History". Cambridge Water Company. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
6. Ofwat 2006, pp. 33–34.
7. Salvidge, Rachel (8 February 2022). "High levels of toxic chemicals found in Cambridgeshire water supply". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 19 April 2023.

"About Us - Cambridge Water". cambridge-water.co.uk. 2012. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.