Review of Operations

Total rainfall for the report year was 108% of the long term average with five months receiving below average rainfall. May was the wettest month with 179% of the long term average for May. January was the driest month with only 17.9% of the long term average, followed by July with just 23.4%

Total water supplied in the year was below the annual average water supplied since the merger between Wrexham Water and Chester Waterworks in 1997. This was generally due to low consumption because of favourable weather conditions and the result of the increase in the number of meter optants. The very hot weather during July resulted in the highest daily water supply since the merger.

The Company has no funded water quality enhancement programme for the AMP4 period. The Company continued to develop its Distribution Operation and Maintenance Strategy, operationally this is based largely on air scouring of mains.

The Company’s major capital maintenance strategy for the distribution system in AMP4 is the renewal of mains to maintain serviceability as measured by mains bursts, supply interruptions and discolouration incidents. Whilst the level of mains renewal activity is lower than in AMP3, it can be better targeted at mains with the potential to burst than was possible during the S19 programme.

The new Pendinas treatment works, which replaced the old Pendinas and Nant y Ffrith works, continues to operate satisfactorily since it was commissioned in October 2004. It achieved the objective of improving the treatment of manganese as required by the S19 undertakings.

Monitoring and optimisation of plumbosolvency treatment at three works in accordance with a Statement of Intent is continuing. The Company considers that it is close to achieving optimum dose rates.

The Company’s largest AMP4 scheme is the major refurbishment of the Boughton treatment works, which supplies Chester. This single project constitutes about 50% of the Company’s entire AMP4 investment programme for capital maintenance. Due to advance planning, the Company was able to initiate the contract early in the AMP4 period. The contract for the works was signed with a consortium of Purac and Morrison Construction in May 2005 when the design and feasibility study stage commenced. The construction stage commenced in February 2006. Contract completion is due in January 2008.

In summary, the work covers:-

• refurbishment of the existing DAF
• refurbishment of raw water reservoir transfer pumps
• replacing all existing filtration processes with a new two stage filter building incorporating manganese removal
• a new chlorination dosing systems and contact tank.
• a filter washwater recovery system
• a new ammonia dosing system
• a new treated water pumping station with three new pumps to replace existing pumps
• refurbishment of two existing treated water pumps
• refurbishment of the electrical distribution
• associated cross site pipework and services diversions.