Water Quality
The annual Water Quality Report for 2006 has been published and is available for download here.
The water we supply to you comes from two surface water sources (Blithfield Reservoir and Chelmarsh Reservoir) and 22 regulatory groundwater sources comprising of 62 boreholes, before being treated and distributed to you via nearly 6000 kilometres of mains and 31 service reservoirs.
Boreholes are deep wells that collect water which has soaked down through the ground to form underground water stores called aquifers.
Groundwater is water that is collected and stored in reservoirs from rivers and streams.
On average of all the water supplied, 40% can be taken from underground sources and 60% can be supplied by our surface treatment works. The main treatment works is at Hampton Loade on the River Severn with a maximum output of 215 megalitres per day. The other treatment works is at Seedy Mill near Lichfield which receives water from a large reservoir at Blithfield and has a maximum output of 120 megalitres per day.
The Company’s area is divided into 23 water quality supply zones. Each of these zones is supplied either by a single source or a group of sources that are blended within service reservoirs. The water quality supply zones enable the Company to accurately monitor the quality of the water.
To monitor the water supply, samples are collected and analysed from all stages of distribution including treatment works, service reservoirs and randomly selected customer taps.
Over 73,000 tests were carried out during 2006 from over 9000 samples collected for regulatory purposes. Of these 99.97% complied with the Regulations. The tests that were undertaken fall broadly into three categories:
- Bacteriological including coliform organisms and Cryptosporidia
- Physio-chemical such as pH, nitrate, iron, lead and PAH (polyaromatic hydrocarbons).
- Aesthetics such as taste, odour and colour.
The few samples that did not meet with the Regulatory standards did not pose any risk to public health.
If you wish to find out the hardness of your water, you can use our Water Hardness Table.
If you wish to check the quality of your water you can use our Water Quality Search.
Useful external links.
DWI: Responsible for assessing the quality of drinking water in England and Wales.
OFWAT: Regulates water and sewage providers in England and Wales.
Consumer Council for Water: Represents consumers of water and sewage services in England and Wales.