Three Valleys Water

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Three Valleys Water plc is a privately-owned company supplying water to Hertfordshire and parts of Surrey North London and Bedfordshire, in England. Its current chairman is Sir Alan Thomas.

The company was originally formed by a merger in 1994 of the Colne Valley, Rickmansworth and Lee Valley Water companies. In October 2000 North Surrey Water joined the group. The company is owned by Veolia Environnement, a French company with international interests in the water, waste management, energy and transportation sectors.

The area served includes lies to the north, north-west and south-west London, including most of Hertfordshire, Luton and parts of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, north and north-west London and Surrey^[1].

The company depends heavily upon the local chalk aquifer for its supplies. In recent years, due to a combination of lower than average rainfall and growing demand, the aquifer has become depleted. This has affected the environment as some watercourses become seasonal and domestic users have been subject to drought restrictions, for the first time for many years.

Hemel Hempstead lies within the company's area. After the major fire at the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal at Buncefield, efforts are being made to deal with contaminants to the local aquifer and bore holes.