South West Water provides

drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...

and waste water services throughout

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

and in small areas of

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

and

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. South West Water was created in 1989 with the privatisation of the water industry. It was preceded by the South West Water Authority which was formed by the

Water Act 1973 The Water Act 1973 (1973 c.37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reorganised the water, sewage and river management industry in England and Wales. Water supply and sewage disposal were removed from local authority control, ...

as one of ten regional water authorities formed by a merger of various statutory and local authority water undertakings. South West Water is part of the

Pennon Group Pennon Group plc is a British water utility company based in Exeter, England. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. 83% of the company's profits come from its subsidiary, South West Water. ...

History

South West Water was formed in 1989 when the water industry in the United Kingdom was privatised. It is responsible for the supply of the region's drinking water, the treatment and disposal of sewage, and the protection of inland and bathing waters. It is closely regulated by

Ofwat , type = , nativename = , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ofwat logo.svg , logo_width = 150px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = ...

, the Water Services Regulation Authority, being required to conform to stringent United Kingdom and European Union standards. Water from the Littlehampston treatment works, which serves about 162,000 customers in the

Torbay Torbay is a borough and unitary authority in Devon, south west England. It is governed by Torbay Council and consists of of land, including the resort towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, located on east-facing Tor Bay, part of Lyme ...

area of Devon, has on three separate occasions been contaminated by the dangerous

cryptosporidium ''Cryptosporidium'', sometimes informally called crypto, is a genus of apicomplexan parasitic alveolates that can cause a respiratory and gastrointestinal illness (cryptosporidiosis) that primarily involves watery diarrhea (intestinal cryptosp ...

parasite. In July 1988 the water supply to

Camelford Camelford ( kw, Reskammel) is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately ten miles (16 km) north of Bodmin and is governed by ...

, served by the Lowermoor treatment works, was severely contaminated by

aluminium sulphate Aluminium sulfate is a salt with the formula Al2 (SO4)3. It is soluble in water and is mainly used as a coagulating agent (promoting particle collision by neutralizing charge) in the purification of drinking water and wastewater treatment plan ...

. Many people had medical issues after this and some died. SWW is part of the

. The following public utilities were taken over by the South West Water Authority in 1973: *Cornwall River Authority *Devon River Authority *Avon and Dorset River Authority† *

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

County Borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ter ...

Corporation *East Cornwall Water Board *East Devon Water Board *North and Mid Cornwall Water Board *North Devon Water Board *South Cornwall Water Board *South West Devon Water Board *West Cornwall Water Board † Only the area of the authority which drained into the River Lim. It was the subject of an episode of the fly-on-the-wall documentary '' Back to the Floor'' in 1997.

Activities

The main source of the water supplied by South West Water is the twenty reservoirs they own, with 90% of the water coming from reservoirs and rivers. The company makes great efforts to keep the water clean while allowing access to the public for sport and recreation.

Upper Tamar Lake Upper Tamar lake is a reservoir on the border of Cornwall and Devon in south-west England. It is owned by South West Water and managed by the South West Lakes Trust. The reservoir serves the water supply in the Bude area of Cornwall and surroundin ...

has facilities for angling and watersports, and is used by a number of local clubs including fishing and model yachting clubs. The

South West Lakes Trust South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

is a charitable organisation that manages fifty inland water sites across Cornwall, Devon and West Somerset, attracting around two million visitors annually.

References

External links

*
South West Water on Thewaterplace.co.uk
{{Authority control Water companies of England Companies based in Exeter 1989 establishments in England Former nationalised industries of the United Kingdom

History

Activities

See also

References

External links