We collect raw water from a variety of sources, including lakes, rivers and boreholes, but predominantly from open reservoirs. We have more reservoirs than any other UK water company – the biggest are Thirlmere and Haweswater in the Lake District National Park. We own and manage 56,000 hectares of land, much of which is catchment land (the areas immediately surrounding our reservoirs).
How we operate
Planning horizons
We plan across multiple horizons, using an adaptive planning approach, which helps to ensure we are delivering our purpose in a sustainable way. Short-term planning and targets for the year ahead allow us to measure progress towards our medium-term plans. Medium-term planning aligns with our five-year regulatory cycles, and these plans are created to help us towards our very long-term plans to ensure resilience.
Key resources
We depend, and strive to have positive impacts, on each of the six capitals – from sustainable natural resources across the water cycle, to our extensive network of assets, and our colleagues and supply chain.
1.8bn litres of water supplied every day across the North West
122,000km of water and wastewater pipes – enough to circle the earth more than three times
External environment
We are influenced by, and must adapt to, a number of external factors, including the regulatory and economic environment we operate in, and our reliance and impact on the natural environment.
5-year regulatory cycles (AMPs), with long-term adaptive plans
40% higher urban rainfall in the North West than average across England and Wales
Strategic priorities and material themes
Our strategic priorities are designed to help us deliver our purpose, and we regularly engage with stakeholders to ensure we are addressing the things that are most material to them and to the company.
Progressive approach to ESG with strategy clearly aligned
Transparent reporting with top material themes all covered through comprehensive disclosures
Culture and core values
We have an innovative and high performance culture, underpinned by three core values that reflect the behaviours we believe are most important to help us deliver our purpose.
Robust governance with culture clearly led from the top
Executive remuneration closely linked to sustainability-related performance
Risk and resilience
Successful management of risks and uncertainties enables us to deliver on our purpose and strategic priorities, and to be more resilient across our corporate, financial and operational structures. We have a robust risk and resilience framework for the identification, assessment and mitigation of risk. This is supported by strong governance and we are focused on continual improvement.
Delivering our purpose
Greener
Protecting and enhancing the natural environment in our region
We have delivered a number of environmental improvements in the last decade, including significant peatland restoration activities, tree planting, and improvements for rivers and bathing waters. AMP8 will be the largest environmental investment we have ever delivered, including an industry-leading programme to further reduce spills from storm overflows.
Healthier
Supporting society across the North West with great-quality services
We are focused on delivering reliable and resilient water and wastewater services, while continually improving these for our customers and helping families with affordability and vulnerability support. Colleague health, safety and wellbeing is a top priority, we regularly engage and develop our people, and we are committed to further improving equity, diversity and inclusion.
Stronger
Responsible business and governance supporting jobs and communities
Our activities support thousands of jobs, directly and through our supply chain, helping to grow the North West economy. We actively engage and invest in regional communities for the long term. We spend customers’ money wisely, and efficiently deliver against our commitments.
Key resources
How we manage our dependencies and impacts
Delivering our purpose requires us to sustainably source, use and positively impact on resources from each of the six capitals.
Natural capital
Every stage of the water cycle, as shown below, relies on renewable and non-renewable environmental resources including water, land, air, minerals and forests as well as biodiversity and ecosystem health.
Financial capital
In order to protect affordability and share the cost of significant long-term infrastructure projects fairly between generations, we use debt and equity finance as well as revenue and direct procurement for customers (DPC).
Manufactured capital
We have a large number of assets that are essential in enabling us to provide our services to customers and protect public health, including buildings, fleet, equipment and infrastructure.
Intellectual capital
The knowledge and systems we have built, including our understanding of the region and the people who live here, are essential to effectively running and maintaining our assets to ensure a long-term resilient service.
Social capital
It is important that we maintain positive and constructive relationships with a wide variety of stakeholders, including community bodies, regulators, environmental interest groups, and political and governmental bodies.
Human capital
Colleagues are essential in delivering our purpose and a skilled, engaged and motivated team is fundamental to great service and colleague retention, which helps ensure efficient training and better performance.
Water cycle
Our core activities cover each stage of the water cycle for all customers, and associated retail activities for household customers. Business retail is undertaken through our joint venture, Water Plus, through a competitive market.
Our strategic priorities:
1. Water resources – sustainably sourcing water
2. Water network plus – supplying treated water 24/7
We treat raw water in one of our 86 water treatment works and then store it in covered reservoirs before transporting it to homes and businesses right across the region, using over 43,000 kilometres of water pipes – that’s longer than the circumference of the earth.
3. Wastewater network plus – cleaning and returning wastewater
Every day, we collect used water from customers’ toilets, emptied sinks, baths, showers and household appliances. 54 per cent of our sewers are combined, meaning they also take rainwater. We have over 79,000 kilometres of wastewater pipes and sewers that transport it to one of our 583 wastewater treatment works, where it is separated and treated, before being returned to the natural environment through rivers and streams, so that the water cycle can begin again.
4. Bioresources – generating renewable energy
Sludge is a by-product from the wastewater treatment process. It is transported to our bioresources treatment facilities, which use digestion technologies to safely and compliantly treat more than 200,000 dry tonnes of sewage sludge a year. The digestion treatment process produces biogas and biosolids.
5. Household retail – supporting customers
We provide household customer services including meter reading, billing, account management services, and water efficiency support.
Natural environment
Climate change
We are already experiencing more extreme rainfall events, freezing temperatures followed by rapid thawing, and prolonged dry periods. This increases the level of risk for water availability, flooding, and network damage. We have detailed plans in terms of both adaptation (building resilience against these changes) and mitigation (reducing our carbon footprint).
Population growth
The North West population is already increasing, and forecast to grow by around a million by 2050. We plan well into the future and continually adapt to strengthen our long-term operational resilience. Our water resources management plan, for instance, considers consumption forecasts out to 2080.
Protecting and restoring ecosystems
Much of the landscape in our region is legally protected for its environmental or cultural significance, including national parks and sites of special scientific interest (SSSI), and we play a role in looking after it and restoring healthy, resilient ecosystems.
Economic environment
Market rate movements
The impacts on our business of movements, such as interest rates and inflation, are complex. Cost increases are partly offset by increased allowances under the regulatory mechanism. £4.7 billion of our debt is index-linked, therefore impacted by inflation. Our regulatory capital value (RCV) also rises with inflation, and our £4.9 billion of fixed-rate debt increases in benefit as interest rates rise. Unlike many companies, our low dependency pension schemes are protected from market rate movements.
Customer affordability
The economic environment also impacts customers, with the most deprived, typically, hit the hardest. The North West has 47 per cent of the most deprived neighbourhoods – more than any other region – making the industry-leading affordability support we provide even more critical. We are doubling our support in AMP8, helping one in six households in the region, and we remain strong supporters of the CCW’s call for a national social tariff, pooling funds to help those in most need.
Political environment
Engagement and adaptability
Political decisions have the potential to impact on our operations, including changes to legislative obligations under environmental and competition law. We engage with regional and national politicians, and other policymakers, to understand developments and key issues, improving policy development where possible, and stay flexible to adapt as needed.
Environment Act 2021
The Government set out an ambitious plan for reducing spills from storm overflows, as well as obligations to reduce phosphorus and address nutrient imbalance. We have already invested significant amounts to improve the quality of rivers and seas in the North West, and AMP8 will see our biggest ever environmental investment programme.
Water (Special Measures) Act
Passed this year, this act strengthens the power of regulators to impose special measures on failing water companies, including blocking executive bonuses, imposing penalties and potential criminal charges for law breaking.
Technology and innovation
Developments
New technology and innovation can create opportunities for improvements in service and efficiency. The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning helps us to improve performance, and is central to our Dynamic Network Management approach. We work closely with suppliers and innovators from around the world to maximise the opportunities presented by new technology and ideas.
Customer interaction
In an increasingly digital world, we must evolve our services to ensure we meet changing customer expectations. We have modernised the methods and channels through which customers can get in touch to access their bills, update their information, and receive updates on services and support.
Cyber and data security
Technology can give rise to risks, such as the threat of cyber attacks, which has increased in recent years. Protecting infrastructure, customer information and commercial data from malicious activity is a key priority, as set out on page 57.
Downloads
Our business model
Key resources
External environment
