Thames Water and Severn Trent dish out first AMP7 contracts

Severn Trent has announced the winning contractors on its AMP7 civil and design contracts.

Amey, Costain, Murphy, Mott MacDonald Bentley JV, MWH Treatment, nmcn (formerly North Midland Construction), VolkerStevin and Atkins have all been named on the design and build framework. Meanwhile, Barhale, Coffey, CPC Civil, Forkers, GEDA, JN Bentley, Kier, MWH Treatment, nmcn and VolkerStevin make up Severn Trent’s civils framework.  

The announcements follows the review of water companies business plans for AMP7 by the regulator Ofwat. Severn Trent was one of three companies to get an early go-ahead from Ofwat in January.

Severn Trent capital delivery and commercial director Helen Miles said: “Getting fast-track status from Ofwat means that we’ve been able to make a really early start on our planning for AMP7,” she said.  

“We now have 12 months where we can define the key projects we need to deliver for our customers, which we can do alongside our new construction partners. We are delighted we now have our partners in place for lots 1 and 2, and this is a really exciting time for us as we look at new, more efficient ways to invest for the future to make our services even better.” 

Meanwhile, Thames Wate, has pressed on with its AMP7 contracts for combating leaks and cracking down on illegal use of unauthorised and unlicensed standpipes, despite Ofwat stating in their review that Thames’ plans needed “serious reworking”.

The eight-year contracts from Thames Water are worth a total £200M and aim to increase leakage savings in London and the Thames Valley area by 16%, from 370M.L up to 430M.L of water saved every day. (See below for winners in full.)   

Thames Water chief operating officer Lawrence Gosden said: “Reducing leakage is a top priority for the company and our customers, so it’s vital we have the very best people working on it,” he said.  

“Our partners will be challenged to be as innovative as possible to find leaks so we can get them fixed, especially those that are hidden underground and not visible from the surface. We are focussed on ensuring our network is fit to serve our customers now and into the future, and I’m confident investment on this scale will help us to achieve our ambitious targets.”  

Thames Water is expected to submit a revised AMP7 business plan before the end of April. Ofwat will make final determinations on all water company plans not already approved by December. 

It comes as Environment Agency chief executive James Bevan called on the country’s water suppliers to improve their leaky infrastructure, warning that the UK risks running out of water within 25 years. 

He said that climate change and population growth are set to put “an existential threat” on UK’s water supply in the coming years. The water boss called on water companies to invest in new infrastructure, new reservoirs, and to clamp down on waste to order avoid what he called “the jaws of death”. 

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