Severn Trent Water gets go-ahead for £95 million plan to improve quality and reduce pollution
Severn Trent Water has been given the green light by Defra, Ofwat and the Environment Agency to bring forward £95 million worth of improvements as public anger about pollution has increased.
The Government announced on Saturday, when water bills increased, that water companies will face unlimited fines if they continue to pollute rivers and streams at the current rate.
Severn Trent Water, which had a better record than most of companies, will now bring forward the installation of 250,000 smart meters that will help customers reduce demand and tackle leakage, increase reservoir capacity and improving monitoring at 80 sewage treatment works.
The company's CEO Liv Garfield said: “The accelerated initiative agreed by Defra, Ofwat and Environment Agency is one we welcome, and allows us to progress with an additional £95m worth of investment to go even further in tackling topics we know are important not only to us, but our customers too.
“With challenges the industry is facing such as drought, it’s vital we can start sooner rather than later and not wait until the start of the next five year cycle in 2025 to get ahead.
"While we’re already making huge investments when it comes to the environment and river health, we’re absolutely always committed to doing more, as proven by our ambitious Green Recovery programme. And bringing forward investment allows us to do just that, and will see us going even further and faster in delivering our plans."
