Public limited company | |
Industry | Water supply |
Founded | 16 July 1846 |
Headquarters | Bristol, England |
Area served
|
2,600 km2 (1,000 sq mi) of South west England |
Key people
|
Mel Karam, CEO |
Products | Drinking water |
Production output
|
0.266 Gl/day (drinking) |
Revenue |
|
Number of employees
|
468 |
Parent | iCON Infrastructure Partners III, L.P. (50%), iCON Infrastructure Partners III (Bristol), L.P. (30%) and Corporation of Japan (20%). |
Website | www |
Bristol Water supplies 266 million litres of drinking water daily to over 1.2 million customers in a 2,600 km2 (1,000 sq mi) area centred on Bristol, England. It is regulated under the Water Industry Act 1991. Sewerage services in the Bristol area are provided by Wessex Water.
Approximately half the water is taken from the Mendip Hills, particularly Chew Valley Lake, Blagdon Lake, Cheddar Reservoir and Barrow Gurney Reservoirs, with the other half is piped from the River Severn via the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. There are 6,772 km (4,208 mi) of local water mains.
The company was formerly known as Bristol Waterworks Company, which was formed on 16 July 1846 by an Act of Parliament. The first general meeting was held in the White Lion Hotel on Broad Street. Members of the first committee included William Budd, a physician who helped control cholera outbreaks in Bristol, and Francis Fry of the Fry family. Women were first employed at Bristol Waterworks during the First World War. By April 1942 female staff had entirely replaced men on night telephone duty.
On 28 July 1939 the company began construction on the Chew Valley Lake Scheme as a reservoir for the city. It was the largest and most expensive project in the company's history. The first sod was cut on 10 July 1946. Queen Elizabeth II inaugurated Chew Valley Lake on 17 April 1956, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh. On 24 November 1941 the Bristol Blitz caused 95 fractured water mains in the city but by 28 November the water system in the city was restored to normal.