Northumbrian Water has announced a £2 million investment in our waterways as part of its bold plans for sustainability and improving the environment over the next few years.
The water company has also revealed four ambitious goals featured in a five-year plan to improve the environment. By 2025 the water company aims to be a leader in the sustainable use of natural resources through achieving zero avoidable waste and to be carbon neutral by 2027. It also promises to have zero pollutions as a result of its operations and have the best beaches and rivers in the country.
The £2 million earmarked for investment in our waterways is The Improving the Water Environment Scheme, which will provide money and staff support that will contribute to improvements to rivers, streams, lakes, reservoirs, wetlands, beaches and coastline, benefitting all those who use them. Partners will work together to jointly fund and deliver packages of improvement work covering access, wildlife, facilities and water quality.
The scheme, which was launched in a presentation at the NWG Innovation Festival (13 July) goes above and beyond Northumbrian Water Group’s commitment to investing in the Water Industry National Environment Programme – which as agreed with the Environment Agency, aims to improve 450km of rivers and coastal waters.
Clare Deasy, catchment coordinator at Northumbrian Water, said: “As part our commitment to looking after the environment and improving the lives of people in our communities, we have launched an Improving the Water Environment Scheme.
“We will invest £2m in the scheme from 2020-2025 and hope that in this time we will see 300km of our accessible water environment transformed by delivering packages of improvements that will be tailored to each site’s individual needs.
“If work is completed on over 300km of water environment by 2025, additional funding will be awarded to allow more stretches of waterways to be improved. It’s an innovative project that will heavily involve our customers and partners in ensuring that we improve the areas that need it most and where people can get most benefit. We can’t wait to get started!”
Graham Southall, Group Commercial Director at Northumbrian Water, added: “We are committed to looking after and improving the environment and this is demonstrated in our ambitious goals. Launching the Improving the Water Environment Scheme is a great start to realising our ambitions.”
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Northumbrian Water Limited supplies 2.7 million customers in the North East with both water and sewerage services, trading as Northumbrian Water, and 1.8 million customers in the South East with water services, trading as Essex & Suffolk Water.
In 2017 Northumbrian Water was named Utility of the Year at the Utility Week Awards, for the second time in four years. The company has followed this up in 2018 by winning the UK Excellence Award at the British Quality Foundation (BQF) UK Excellence Awards, and Water Company of the Year at the Water Industry Achievement Awards. Northumbrian Water also received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for sustainable development for a second time in 2014, which is accredited for five years. This recognises the company as a business which benefits the environment, society and the economy.
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