Severn Trent will invest £15bn on its “Midlands infrastructure plan” between 2025 and 2030.
Jobs, infrastructure and sewage spills
The package includes new jobs, customer support, infrastructure upgrades and a plan to reduce the environmental impact of its operation.
The firm says 7,000 new roles will be created across the Midlands, including apprenticeships and supply chain roles.
The five-year plan includes a financial package of £575m to help 700,000 households with bill affordability.
More than £2bn has been allocated for storm overflow reduction and river health improvement.
Thousands of kilometres of new mains will be installed with the aim of reducing leakage by 16% by 2030, and 50% by 2045.
New water sources will be connected to add more than 100 million litres a day in capacity in coming years to keep pace with rising demand. Smart meter rollout is planned for one million homes.
Impact on bills
Water rates for customers will rise by up to 47% in the next five years to finance the investment. Severn Trent claims this increase is among the lowest nationally.
Customers can only hope the same shambles surrounding Thames Water does not occur with Severn Trent.
In Thames’s case, decades of underinvestment in infrastructure, inflated executive compensation and shareholder dividend have led to raw sewage being pumped into waterways. The firm is now an exemplar of everything wrong with the water sector.
