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Vital Statistics
Price increase since privatisation (real terms) - 39.3%
Cost of average bill in 1997/98 - £207.10
[Rising prices]
Leakage rate in 1996/97 - 479m litres per day
[Water leakage]
Amount of water supplied daily - 2,022m litres
[Regional water supplies]
Population supplied with water - 7.3 million
Drinking water meeting required standards - 99.8%
[Drinking water]
Successful prosecutions for pollution incidents since 1989/90 - 44
[Pollution patrol]
Number of disconnections in 1996/97 - 457
[Disconnections]
Cost of water meter installation - free
Households with water meters - 13.2%
[Water meters]
Annual salary of Water Service Managing Director in 1996/97 - £175,500
[Salaries at the top]
Company profits in 1996/97 - £345m
[Profiting from privatisation]
The March 1998 value of a £100 investment made at the time of privatisation - £571
[Your £100 investment]
Customers
Out of the combined water and sewerage companies Severn Trent Water disconnected the most households in 1996/97 for non-payment of bills. But both the increase in charges since privatisation and the cost of this year’s average water and sewerage bill are below the national average. The company also installs water meters for free while some other companies charge for the service.
Environment
Severn Trent Water has been successfully prosecuted for polluting the environment more often than any of the other combined water and sewerage companies. There was a high of 18 cases in 1990/91 alone. Incidents have included the contamination of rivers and streams through chemical or sewage leaks sometimes badly affecting fish stocks. In the water leakage league tables the company is third from the highest behind North West Water and Thames Water. The company has to make a 27% reduction in their leakage rates to meet Ofwat’s targets for 1998/99.
Business
Severn Trent Water made the second largest profits out of the group in 1997 and the largest profits in 1996. The Managing Director, Brian Duckworth was paid 9% more in 1996/97 than the previous year.
Related Programmes
"Troubled Waters?"
BBC2, Midlands Report
Thursday 26th March 7.30 pm
Helen Grew is a campaigning pensioner who wants to know how her water company can justify charging so much, when its profits are huge.
Rahim Sattar is a 14 year old environmentalist. He's concerned that the environment is being damaged when water is taken out and when effluent is discharged from sewerage works.
Dr. Tina Leonard fears for the future. She wants to know why her water company isn't doing more to persuade its customers to conserve water.
The Midlands Report Water Week special 'Troubled Waters?' gives the three consumers the chance to tackle Severn Trent Water about their concerns.
Producer: Bob Jefford
All BBC local radio stations will have special coverage of water issues in their breakfast programmes every day this week - and there'll be phone-in programmes when water industry bosses will be put on the spot by their customers. Tune in to your local BBC station to find out more details of their coverage of the BBC's Water Week.
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