Severn Trent To Invest £500m In Green Recovery Programme
Severn Trent has received endorsement from water regulator Ofwat to invest £565 million in its ambitious Green Recovery programme, which will support the creation of 2,500 jobs in the Midlands and help the country to build back better following the pandemic.
In an announcement about the plans, the company explained it will now work its way through the detail contained in Ofwat’s response to its proposals, and from there finalise its Green Recovery Programme.
A number of innovative projects were included in Severn Trent’s proposal, some of which will see the water company leading the way in the UK. The projects outlined will benefit both the environment and local communities, the organisation added.
Among the projects included in the plans are a scheme to trial the creation of two bathing river stretches in the River Leam and River Teme with the aim to encourage wild swimming, as well as using low-carbon technology to increase water supplies.
Some of the plans included in the Green Recovery programme will directly benefit customers, as well as helping them to reduce their water usage and do their part for the environment.
For example, another of the plans is to introduce over 150,000 smart meters to help people reduce their water consumption, and there is another proposal to use innovative techniques to identify and remove old customer-owned lead pipes in up to 26,000 homes.
Near the town of Mansfield, Severn Trent also intends to create a scale trial that follows a nature-based approach to reducing flooding.
Severn Trent chief executive Liv Garfield commented: “Our communities, and the environment they care about, are at the heart of what we do. The Green Recovery programme is a key element in the government’s plans to get the nation back on its feet and improve the environment.”
Ms Garfield also pointed out that the company is “accelerating its capital spend” to help it deliver on its existing commitments more quickly and to deliver what she described as “these impressive plans”.
Among the plans that will be accelerated by this investment is the improvement of 500 km of river that will be carried out five years earlier than originally planned.
Severn Trent isn’t the only water provider that has recently outlined a Green Recovery initiative and had it provisionally approved by Ofwat. South West Water also revealed that it too is now one step closer to getting started on its own Green Recovery programme, which will see it focus on restoring more of the region’s peatland, as well as introduce initiatives to help customers reduce their water usage.
Although not quite on the same scale as the Severn Trent plans, the proposal outlined by South West Water will also result in job creation, with the company hoping to employ 500 more people as it rolls out its initiatives.
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