Severn Trent

Severn Trent plc
Public limited company (plc)
Traded as LSE: SVT
Industry Water industry
Founded 1985 (1985)
Headquarters Coventry, England, United Kingdom
Area served
 Midlands
Key people
Products
Production output
  • 1.8 Gl/day (drinking)
  • 1.4 Gl/day (recycled)
Revenue £1,786.9 million (2016)[1]
£523.8 million (2016)[1]
£331.3 million (2016)[1]
Website www.severntrent.com

Severn Trent plc is a UK water company that is traded on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Severn Trent, the trading name owned by the above company applies to a group of companies employing more than 15,000 people across the UK, US and mainland Europe, with some involvement in the Middle East.

The main companies in the group are Severn Trent Water and Severn Trent Services.

Severn Trent Laboratories was rebranded as part of Severn Trent Services in 2010 to streamline the company better and to give a single worldwide image, rather than a series of separate organisations with different identities.

As with all UK water companies, Severn Trent is regulated under the Water Industry Act 1991.

History

Severn Trent Water Authority was established in 1985 through the amalgamation of the pre-existing water supply authorities, the Severn River Authority, the Trent River Authority and the sewage and sewage disposal responsibilities of the councils within its area. In 1989, the authority was privatised under the Water Act 1973, together with the rest of the water industry in England and Wales, to form Severn Trent Water with a responsibility to supply fresh water and treat sewage for around 8 million people living in the Midlands of England and also a small area of Wales.[2] It took its name from the two major rivers in this area, the Severn and the Trent.[2] In 1991 it went on to acquire Biffa, a leading waste management business.[2]

In October 2006 Biffa was demerged from the Severn Trent group and is now listed separately on the Stock Exchange.[3] In January 2007 the American side of Severn Trent Laboratories was sold to HIG Capital.[4] In September 2007 the company announced they would be closing their headquarters in the city of Birmingham and relocating to a custom built office complex in the centre of the city of Coventry in autumn 2010.[5][6]

Statutory water undertakers acquired

The water authority took over the following public sector statutory water undertakers:[7]

Section 12 of the Water Act 1973 stated that “where the area of a water authority includes the whole or part of the limits of supply of a statutory water company, the authority shall discharge their duties with respect to the supply of water within those limits through the company.” The following two private statutory water companies continued to supply water as before within their limits as supply but only as "agents" of the water authority:

The water authority remained responsible for sewerage and sewage disposal within the limits of supply of these two companies.

Other organisations and functions acquired

The water authority took over the following public sector bulk water suppliers:

The water authority took over the following main drainage authorities, which were joint boards set up to deal with the main sewerage and sewage treatment in their respective areas:

It took over two river authorities, responsible for control of water pollution:

The water authority took over the functions responsible for sewerage and sewage disposal from all local authorities, including main drainage authorities, within its area, however section 15 of the Water Act 1973 allowed district (but not county) councils to enter into agency agreements with water authorities whereby the district councils became their "agents" for the maintenance and design and construction of new sewers.[8]

Operations

The company supplies about 3.7m households and businesses in its area.[9] Severn Trent Water has a call centre in Coventry dealing with operational emergencies and billing enquiries, and two other call centres in Derby and Shrewsbury which deal solely with billing enquiries. Its head office is the new custom-built "Severn Trent Centre" in Coventry.[10]

Regulation and criticism

Like other water companies in England, Severn Trent Water is regulated by OFWAT, the Water Services Regulation Authority.

High leakages rate 2008-11

Despite improvements, according to Ofwat, the percentage of leakages in 2010-2011 was the highest in England and Wales at 27% representing 0.5 billion litres (500,000 tonnes) per day.[11]

2008

In July 2008, OWAT confirmed that it had fined Severn Trent Water £35.8 million for deliberately providing false information to Ofwat and for delivering poor service to its customers.[12]

In 2008 the Company was fined £2m (reduced from a previous judgement of £4m) for poor information reporting and covering up misleading leakage data.[13]

Effect of the Summer 2007 United Kingdom floods

In July 2007 the Mythe Water Treatment Works near Tewkesbury became inundated with water from the River Severn during the Summer 2007 United Kingdom floods. The water coming into the plant was contaminated and this led to the loss of all running water for approximately 150,000 people in Cheltenham, Gloucester and Tewkesbury.[14]

March 2016 Water Gate Incident

On March 11, 2016 Severn Trent customers in Derbyshire were issued with a 'Do not use' notice due to high levels of chlorine detected in the water supply, leaving thousands of households without a clean reliable water supply.[15]

Reservoirs

The company operates a number of reservoirs, many of which are accessible for recreational use. These include:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Annual Report 2016" (PDF). Severn Trent. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "Working within the community". severntrent.com. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  3. ↑ Mark Milner. "Severn Trent to split its waste and water operations". the Guardian. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  4. ↑ HIG Capital affiliate completes acquisition of Severn Trent Laboratories
  5. ↑ "Birmingham Post: Business news, local news, expert opinion". birminghampost.net. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "We're sorry...". stwater.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  7. ↑ The Severn-Trent Water Authority Constitution Order 1973 (S.I. 1973 No.1437)
  8. ↑ "Water Act 1973: Water Authorities and Local Authorities" (PDF). Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  9. ↑ Severn Trent About us
  10. ↑ "Coventry's new Severn Trent Centre opens to staff". Coventry Telegraph. 20 September 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  11. ↑ "How much does your water company leak?". BBC news. 5 April 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  12. ↑ Ofwat confirms Severn Trent Water fine, 2 July 2008, PN 21/08, Ofwat Archived 20 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  13. ↑ "Just £2m penalty for Severn Trent lies over water leaks - This is Money". This is Money. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  14. ↑ "Battle to restore water begins". This is Gloucestershire. Retrieved 24 July 2007.
  15. ↑ "People in Derbyshire told not to use water after high chlorine scare". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  16. ↑ "About Linacre Reservoirs". Severn Trent Water website. Severn Trent Water. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
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