Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water

Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water supplies water services to an area of 1,041 square kilometres in Hampshire and Dorset, with a population of 424,000.

Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water was formed in 1994, following the merger of Bournemouth Water and West Hampshire Water, both of which were established in the late 1800s. Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water provides water to 191,000 properties via 2,745km of water mains.

Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water is a water-only supplier, so Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water customers will have their sewerage services supplied by either Wessex Water or Southern Water, depending on where they live in the water supply region.

As two separate companies provide water and sewerage services, Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water customers may receive separate bills for each service or Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water may bill them for both services and collect the money on behalf of the sewerage company.

To be classed as wholesome, water must comply with the water quality standards set out in the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 1989.

In 2003, 17,130 tests were carried out on samples taken by Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water 99.82% of these tests complied with the Regulations (source: http://www.dwi.gov.uk).

Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water is generally a hard water area. However, water hardness levels can vary within each area. Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water can provide you with further information about water hardness in your particular area.

Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water scored highly for customer care in Ofwat's 2003/2004 report on water company performance standards. Whilst they didn't achieve the highest score for water pressure, Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water have been trying to rectify this, as by 2004 the number of properties at risk from low water pressure had been reduced from 0.11% to 0.01%.