Standard content for Members only

To continue reading this article, please login to your Utility Week account, Start 14 day trial or Become a member.

If your organisation already has a corporate membership and you haven’t activated it simply follow the register link below. Check here.

Become a member

Start 14 day trial

Login Register

Welsh Water opens £10m water testing lab

Welsh Water has opened a £10.4 million water testing laboratory in Newport Glaslyn, to "ensure the highest possible quality" of drinking water for its customers.

The company carries out approximately 750,000 wide-ranging analyses of drinking water samples every year to ensure the highest possible quality for its three million customers.

Previously, this work was contracted out to external companies but is now being carried out at Welsh Water’s in-house laboratories at Newport and at Bretton in the north of Wales.

Daily tests at the laboratory are used to verify the quality of drinking water supplied by the company to 1.4 million homes and businesses across Wales and Herefordshire.

According to Welsh Water, the bacteriological tests confirm the safety of the water supply and that the processes at its 66 Water Treatment Works are effective.

Chris Jones, Welsh Water’s chief executive, said: “The Newport facility is our main testing centre in Wales and plays a vital role in ensuring that we continue to provide the best possible water quality at the tap and protect public health – which is our highest priority.

“We also hope that the environmental innovations installed at Glaslyn, including solar panels and our RainScape scheme will show other companies and organisations how these types of schemes can provide major environmental benefits.”