Cambridge Water

Cambridge Water supplies water services to an area of 453 square miles in South Cambridgeshire. Like its neighbour, Anglian Water, Cambridge Water supplies water in East Anglia, where rainfall is only half the national average, and Cambridge is the driest part of this region.

Cambridge also has a high population density and that population is increasing at a greater rate than many areas of the United Kingdom.

Cambridge Water began life as The Cambridge University and Town Waterworks Company in 1853. By the time the company was renamed as Cambridge Water PLC in 1996 it had taken over the water undertakings of five local authorities and two bulk supply joint water boards. In 1999 Cambridge Water was taken over by Union Fenosa and in 2004 was sold to Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Ltd.

Today Cambridge Water supplies 125,000 properties via 2,216 km of water mains and 34 storage towers and reservoirs. Just over half of these properties are metered.

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

As two separate companies provide water and sewerage services, Cambridge Water customers may receive separate bills for each service or Cambridge 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, 9,893 tests were carried out on samples taken by Cambridge Water. 99.72% of these tests complied with the Regulations (source: http://www.dwi.gov.uk).

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

The Cambridge Water "promise" sets out the levels of service domestic Cambridge Water customers can expect, and the compensation they will receive if Cambridge Water fails to meet these levels. This can include failure to respond to queries within ten working days and failure by Cambridge Water to give 48 hours notice if supply is going to be cut off for more than four hours. Compensation can be as much as £20 depending on the circumstances.