Severn Trent met with City of Chester MP, Samantha Dixon, to discuss the work of its local engineers, how the company works hard to keep water flowing and its upcoming £3.6m investment for Chester. 

The MP paid a visit to the Boughton Water Treatment Works which keeps the city’s population supplied with 24 million litres of fresh water 24 hours a day, and the teams behind the scenes. 

MP Samantha Dixon learned all about what goes into supplying the city of Chester with water, as well as how it works alongside other water companies to make sure the local environment and River Dee is looked after.

It comes as Severn Trent is gearing up to start a £3.6m project on the River Dee by installing fish friendly, eel screens on the river to protect local wildlife. 

Severn Trent, who only supply water services in Chester and not waste, say the screens are being installed in raw water intakes where water is taken from before being turned into drinking water.

Samantha Dixon MP said: “It was excellent to visit the works and see first-hand what it takes to supply Chester with our fresh, clean drinking water. 

“I was very interested to find out more about Severn Trent’s work in the Chester, especially as we have different water companies that provide our water and waste services. Severn Trent supplies our water, and it was fascinating to see what it takes behind the scenes to deliver world class water – the cleaning, filtering and careful balancing of supplies.  The dedicated team at the site do an excellent and largely unseen job.

“I was also struck by how the health of the water in the River Dee – where our drinking water comes from – massively affects the treatment process.  

“The healthier the river water, the less chemicals and energy the team needs to use clean the water, so it’s fit for drinking. My campaign to clean up the River Dee is not only important for the environment, but it can also help us to reduce costs and the amount of carbon we use in other areas.”

Sangeeta Suman, Water Treatment Scientist at Severn Trent, said: “It was great to welcome Samantha Dixon to the Boughton Water Treatment Works and show her what the team do for the city of Chester and the River Dee. 

“It is important that we keep the river clean and healthy as it supplies water for the city, that is why projects, including the work to install new eels screen in the River Dee are key to the work that Severn Trent does.”

A total of £3.6million is being invested on improvements which will see upgraded, fish friendly, eel screens installed at The Meadows in Chester on the River Dee. 

The screens are being installed in raw water intakes where water is taken from before being turned into drinking water and will mean the different types of eels such as adult silver eels, yellow eels, juvenile glass eels and elver, as well as other types of fish and wildlife are protected.

The new type of screen will be put in place by Severn Trent on Earl’s Eye Meadows and work is set to begin on Monday, September 4th and will be completed by the end of March 2025. 

The screens will be below the water level and only a small amount of air pipework will be seen. Due to the location of the working area, the Boughton river footpath will be closed to keep everybody safe.

Visit the Severn Trent ‘Planned Improvements’ webpage to see how the work is progressing at www.stwater.co.uk.