Being a good neighbour
Our work to upgrade the region's water supply can bring inconvenience to customers and local communities, so we try to be a good neighbour and give something back.
We consult customers and local community groups about our work and try to plan to avoid any local events, minimise disruption to businesses and avoid the tourist season if appropriate.
How we give something back can vary and often involves volunteering. If we're working in an area close to a school we offer a safety presentation to pupils to make them aware of the dangers of playing close to our roadworks.
Case study - changing rooms
We spent three years upgrading our network to bring customers in Barnsley and Rotherham some of the best-quality drinking water in the world - great news, but it meant some inconvenience. So our volunteers decorated a community room at Wath-On-Dearne Primary School to thank the local community for their patience.
Case study - poetry competition
No example shows just how unique our community involvement can be than our work with Littleworth Grange Primary Learning Centre near Barnsley.
The story starts with the modernisation of Lundwood Waste Water Treatment Works to improve the quality of the water in the River Dearne. Now local bard Ian McMillan might not be the first person whose help you'd think to enlist, but that's just who we called. Ian led a poetry workshop for children at the centre, and they then helped to complete an ode to the new-look sewage works started by Ian himself!
Over 60 poems entered the competition and the wining entry, penned by Alexandra Robinson, was incorporated into a new sign at the entrance to the site.
The aim was for children to be educated about our work to create a more sustainable environment and have fun with words - they were also lucky enough to get a tour of the site when it was officially opened and, just as importantly, Alexandra and Ian unveiled the new sign.
