Bristol Water

Bristol Water supplies 300 million litres of water a day to Bristol and the surrounding area - about 2,400 square kilometres in total, with a population of 1,066,000.

Bristol Water was first established by Act of Parliament in 1846 as Bristol Waterworks Company. The first barrow reservoir was built in 1850 and reservoirs were later built at Blagdon, Cheddar and Chew Stoke. Bristol Water now uses 68 sources of water, including 14 raw water reservoirs and 139 covered reservoirs. As well as the original reservoirs at Blagdon, Cheddar and Chew Stoke, Bristol Water now also obtains over half of its local water supply from the River Severn.

Over a million people are supplied with water by Bristol Water via 6,382 km of local water mains, 18 treatment works and 164 pumping stations.

Bristol Water PLC is also the parent company of Bristol Water Services, Water Systems Optimization Inc, Bristol Wessex Billing Service Limited and Lawrence, a civil and mechanical engineering contractor.

Bristol Water is a water only supplier, so Bristol Water customers will have their sewerage services supplied by Wessex Water.

As two separate companies provide water and sewerage services, Bristol Water customers may receive separate bills for each service or Bristol 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, 46,817 tests were carried out on samples taken by Bristol Water. 99.93% of these tests complied with the Regulations (source: http://www.dwi.gov.uk).

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