Over the past few months, we have welcomed some important guests from the water regulation services authority, Ofwat, to learn more about an exciting project at one of our treatment works. 

We’re now in the final stage of construction on a ceramic filtration system, partly funded through Ofwat's Green Recovery Fund.

The innovative and environmentally sustainable water filtration system, which is being built offline so as not to affect the existing water filtration process, is set to be complete in 2025. It will be the first of its kind in the UK and will be the largest ceramic water-filtration system in the world.

This new ceramic membrane-based water-filtration solution will further enhance water quality, increase efficiency and reliability and significantly reduce energy consumption, which will allow us to play our part in the water sector’s ambition to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.

In November, our Managing Director Andy Willicott hosted Ofwat Chair, Iain Coucher, and discussed the investment that will improve supply resilience and enhance water quality for South Staffs Water and Severn Trent customers.

Using the Green Recovery Fund, we were able to choose an enhanced solution that will be better for the environment, as opposed to the conventional sand filtration option that was originally planned through the current Price Review submission process.

Just before Christmas, we also welcomed Ofwat PR24 Director, Chris Walters, who was shown around the project by our senior leaders Caroline Cooper, Mumin Islam and Philip Saynor.

The same key points were discussed at both meetings, including the challenge of integrating a new water treatment solution into pre-existing installations and how much more sustainable and environmentally friendly the process will be in the end.

We're proud of the work being done by the team at our treatment works and are looking forward to sharing updates with you as the work progresses.