The Water Services Regulation Authority, or Ofwat, is the body responsible for economic regulation of the privatised water and sewerage industry in England and Wales. Ofwat's main statutory duties include protecting the interests of consumers, securing the long-term resilience of water supply and wastewater systems, and ensuring that companies carry out their functions and are able to finance them.
Severn Trent plc is a water company based in Coventry, England. It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Severn Trent, the trading name owned by the company, applies to a group of companies operating across the United Kingdom, United States and mainland Europe, with some involvement in the Middle East. It took its name from the two predecessor River Authorities, which managed the catchment of the Severn and the Trent.
Youlgreave or Youlgravelisten (help·info) is a village and civil parish in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England, on the River Bradford 2+1⁄2 miles (4.0 km) south of Bakewell. The name possibly derives from "yellow grove", the ore mined locally being yellow in colour. The population in 1991 was 1,256; it is one of the largest villages in the Peak District National Park.
Yorkshire Water is a water supply and treatment utility company servicing West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire, part of North Lincolnshire, most of North Yorkshire and part of Derbyshire, in England. The company has its origins in the Yorkshire Water Authority, one of ten regional water authorities created by the Water Act 1973, and privatised under the terms of the Water Act 1989, when Yorkshire Water plc, the parent company of the Yorkshire Water business, was floated on the London Stock Exchange. The parent company was Kelda Group in 1999. In February 2008, Kelda Group was bought by a consortium of infrastructure funds.
The Metropolitan Water Board was a municipal body formed in 1903 to manage the water supply in London, UK. The members of the board were nominated by the local authorities within its area of supply. In 1904 it took over the water supply functions from the eight private water companies which had previously supplied water to residents of London. The board oversaw a significant expansion of London's water supply infrastructure, building several new reservoirs and water treatment works.
Thames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is a large private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in most of Greater London, Luton, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, north Wiltshire, far west Kent, and some other parts of England; it has a considerable local monopoly. Thames Water is the UK's largest water and wastewater services company, and supplies 2.6 billion litres of drinking water per day, and treats 4.7 billion litres of wastewater per day. The area covered by Thames Water has a population of 15 million, that comprise 27% of the UK population.
Southern Water is the private utility company responsible for the public wastewater collection and treatment in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent, and for the public water supply and distribution in approximately half of this area. Some areas within the Southern Water region are supplied by a number of smaller water supply companies. Southern Water supplies an area totalling 4,450 sq. km. and serves 2.26 million customers.
The Water Act 1945 was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom, introduced by the coalition government and intended to expand and support the national water supply in England and Wales. It marked the beginning of a national water supply policy, required water suppliers to supply water to non-domestic customers for the first time, and introduced the concept of abstraction licensing.
South Staffordshire Water plc known as South Staffs Water is a UK water supply company owned by a privately owned utilities company serving parts of Staffordshire the West Midlands as well as small areas of surrounding counties in England. South Staffordshire Water plc is part of South Staffordshire plc. It purchased Cambridge Water in 2011. In 2013, KKR & Co. L.P., a company registered in the United States of America, acquired South Staffordshire Water from Alinda Infrastructure Fund. As of April 2018, KKR & Co. L.P., has agreed to sell its 75% equity stake in South Staffordshire plc to Arjun Infrastructure Partners (AIP). This deal will include South Staffs Water (SSW) and its non-regulated businesses, SSI Services and Echo Managed Services.
London's water supply infrastructure has developed over the centuries in line with the expansion of London. For much of London's history, private companies supplied fresh water to various parts of London from wells, the River Thames and the River Lea. Further demand prompted new conduits and sources, particularly when the Agricultural and Industrial Revolution caused a boom in London's population and housing.
Public water supply and sanitation in England and Wales has been characterised by universal access and generally good service quality. Salient features of the sector in the United Kingdom compared to other developed countries is the full privatisation of service provision and the pioneering of independent economic regulation in the sector in Europe. There has been a substantial increase in real tariffs between 1989 and 2005, whilst independent assessments place the cost of water provision in the UK as higher than most major countries in the EU. The government body responsible for water regulation, together with the water companies, have claimed improvements in service quality during the same period.
The Birmingham Corporation Water Department was responsible for the supply of water to Birmingham, England, from 1876 to 1974. It was also known as Birmingham Corporation Waterworks Department.
The City of Nottingham Water Department (1912–1974), formerly the Nottingham Corporation Water Department (1880–1912), was responsible for the supply of water to Nottingham from 1880 to 1974. The first water supply company in the town was the Nottingham Waterworks Company, established in 1696, which took water from the River Leen, and later from springs at Scotholme, when the river became polluted. Other companies were set up in the late 18th century and in 1824, while in 1826 the Trent Water Company was established. They employed Thomas Hawksley as their engineer, who became one of the great water engineers of the period, and Nottingham had the first constant pressurised water supply system in the country. The various companies amalgamated in 1845, and Hawksley remained as the consulting engineer until 1879.
Hafren Dyfrdwy is a water company providing water and wastewater treatment services, operating in north east and mid Wales. It provides water only in Wrexham and parts of Denbighshire and Flintshire and both water and wastewater in northern Powys. It previously served north east Wales and parts of North West England as Dee Valley Water until June 2018. Its parent entity, Dee Valley Group plc had shares listed on the FTSE Fledgling Index on the London Stock Exchange, but was purchased by Severn Trent in February 2017.
The Cambridge Water Company is a water supply utility company serving Cambridge and the surrounding area. It was established by The Cambridge University and Town Waterworks Act, 1853 and was privately owned until it became a public limited company in 1996. It was sold to Chung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Limited (CKI) in 2004, 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. It became part of South Staffordshire Water in 2013.
Essex and Suffolk Water is a water supply company in the United Kingdom. It operates in two geographically distinct areas, one serving parts of Norfolk and Suffolk, and the other serving parts of Essex and Greater London. The total population served is 1.8 million. Essex and Suffolk is a 'water only' supplier, with sewerage services provided by Anglian Water and Thames Water within its areas of supply. It is part of the Northumbrian Water Group.
Liverpool Corporation Waterworks and its successors have provided a public water supply and sewerage and sewage treatment services to the city of Liverpool, England. In 1625 water was obtained from a single well and delivered by cart, but as the town grew, companies supplied water to homes through pipes. There were two main companies by the 1840s, but the water supply was intermittent, and there was general dissatisfaction with the service. Liverpool Corporation decided that such an important service should be provided by a public body, and sought to take over the water supply companies.
Cardiff Corporation Waterworks, its predecessors and successors have provided a public water supply and sewerage and sewage treatment services to the Welsh city of Cardiff since 1850.
Lincoln Corporation Waterworks and its predecessors and successors have provided a public water supply and sewerage and sewage treatment services to the city of Lincoln, England. The Romans are known to have built a conduit from the Roaring Meg stream to a water tower in East Bight. Further development took place in 1846, when the Lincoln Water Company was established, following a national outbreak of cholera in 1831-32. The main source of supply was formed by impounding Prial Drain to form Hartsholme Lake. The water was filtered by sand filters at Boultham, and was pumped to a service reservoir at Westgate. Lincoln Corporation wanted to gain control of their water supply, and bought out the water company in 1871. The enabling Act of Parliament also allowed them to construct a sewerage network, which fed a sewage farm at Canwick, but the Bracebridge area was not connected to the sewers, and waste water polluted local watercourses. There were sporadic outbreaks of typhoid and cholera, although the Corporation argued that these might not be linked to a polluted water supply.
Twyford Waterworks is a preserved pumping station and waterworks situated close to the village of Twyford and the city of Winchester in Hampshire, England. It is a scheduled monument and now operates as a museum. The site is leased by the Twyford Waterworks Trust and is open on selected days during the year.
