'Portsmouth Water 1857-2007 150 Years of Service'

PRESS RELEASE

5th July 2007

FROM 'WEAK COFFEE' TO CRYSTAL CLEAR

Following heaving rainfall Portsmouth's water supplies were described as looking like 'weak coffee' in the 1880s. Over the last 120 years there have been many improvements to supplies so that today our customers enjoy crystal clear water.

The story of how supplies have developed in and around the Portsmouth area over the last 150 years is covered in a new book published on Friday, 6th July. It explains how the Company overcame the 'weak coffee' descriptions and many other developments as well as the mergers and amalgamations that occurred through to the present day.

There are many key milestones:

·         The careful precautions needed to safeguard supplies during the Second World War

·         The major amalgamations and the need to develop new resources to meet rapid

·         Key events such as the Great Freeze of 1963, the Drought in  1976, the National Water Industry 
          Strike  of 1983 and the Great Storm of 1987

·         The impact of privatisation and the introduction of regulation during the 1990s

The book has been written by two staff and it relies upon not only the historical records but relates many of the tales from the staff and pensioners who have contributed to the Company's continuing success as one of the most efficient water companies in England and Wales.

The book is priced at £15 and is available from local bookshops and by contacting the Company by telephone on 023 9249 9888 or via the website at www.portsmouthwater.co.uk.

For further information please contact Neville Smith, Finance Director, or Andy Neve, Technical Director, on 023 9249 9888.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Portsmouth Water is one of the oldest water companies in the country, having been incorporated in 1857.

Our Water Sources

Our water, of high quality, is derived from the chalk of the South Downs and is abstracted from wells, boreholes, springs and the River Itchen.

The Springs at Havant and Bedhampton are thought to be the largest group of springs used for public supplies in Europe.

Statistics

We serve 286,000 homes and businesses in an area covering 868 square kilometres (335 square miles) from the River Meon in Hampshire to the River Arun in West Sussex.

Every day we supply around 180 million litres (40 million gallons) of water to a population of over 640,000 people at the lowest cost in England and Wales.

Our Distribution Network

Water is supplied to our customers through a network of over 3,200 kilometres (1,990 miles) of underground water mains and more than 280,000 individual service connections, all of which are continuously maintained by our distribution staff.