Essex & Suffolk Water will invest around £50 million on essential improvements in the water networks during 2018 as part of Northumbrian Water Group’s £1.1 billion planned programme of works from 2015 to 2020.
The extensive investment programme not only brings major improvements for customers it also supports thousands of jobs and local businesses in the Group‘s supply chain.
Work to improve biodiversity and the environment in water catchment areas is among the top priorities for the water company, together with improvements to preventing and fixing leaks in more than 9,000km of water pipes.
It also follows the £150m Abberton Reservoir Scheme, completed in 2015, which was the nation′s largest, and only major, reservoir development in the last 25 years.
This continued investment demonstrates the commitment to securing water supplies for future generations.
Charges for water services for Essex & Suffolk Water’s customers during 2018/19 have been announced and will see customers, on average, paying around 69p per day for all their clean water services.
This small increase, which is around 2p a day / 14p a week, will go towards the water company continuing its multi-million pound improvement programme to secure reliable supplies of great quality water for customers, protect and enhance the environment and to deliver unrivalled customer service to the people of Essex & Suffolk.
Heidi Mottram, Essex & Suffolk Water’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Our household customers will only pay on average around 69p per day for all their drinking water services which represents good value for money.
“Securing the water supplies for future generations is our priority and we will continue to invest in schemes to provide clean, clear tap water that tastes good and to protect the environment.
“Our on-going investment programme not only delivers improvements for our customers, but is also helping to provide much needed work for local companies and secure jobs in the regions we supply.
“We have focused on our efficiency to keep bills as low as possible but we are very aware that some people have difficulty managing the family budget and the affordability of our services is always a concern.
“We offer many ways to assist people through our SupportPLUS scheme and would urge any customers who think they may experience difficulty to get in touch with us as soon as possible.”
Customers who are facing difficulty in paying their bills can find more information at https://www.eswater.co.uk/your-home/your-account/Difficulty-paying.aspx
Or by seeking help from independent advice agencies such as Stepchange at www.stepchange.org