Climate change
We're serious about addressing climate change.
As a water company we are dependent on the weather and climate. The best scientific advice tells us that human induced climate change is already happening. Leaf buds are opening on plants earlier each Spring and sea levels are rising along our coastline. In the coming decades, our winters will be warmer and wetter and summers will be drier and hotter. There are also likely to be more frequent and more extreme weather events like storms and floods.
We need to make sure that we can maintain the high levels of service our customers expect, now and in the longer term. So we are taking action to both reduce our emissions and to prepare for a changing climate.
We have included climate change factors in our long term water supply planning since the 1990s and climate change was recognised as one of our top ten strategic priorities in 2007.
As well as reducing our carbon footprint, we are also making sure that we are adapted and prepared for a changing climate. We are investing in flood resilence measures such as building flood protection walls around treatment works and raising control panels for electrical equipment above flood levels.
We are working in partnership with the government to make sure that critical infrastructure like water companies, energy suppliers and transport organisations are able to cope with future weather events. This includes working with local authorities, emergency services and others to test and improve our joint emergency response plans.
Together with leading academics and experts we are working on research studies and innovative solutions like Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDs) and real time models of our river networks. These projects will help us understand and manage the water cycle better so that we can maintain our high levels of customer service in a way that is cost effective and which delivers multiple benefits for people, wildlife and the environment.
