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Rory Palmer, MEP for the East Midlands, has visited one of Severn Trent’s biggest water treatments works in Derbyshire to find out how the company provides fresh drinking water to customers across the region.

Mr Palmer, who is also a member of the European Parliament’s Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee, visited the site to see first-hand how Severn Trent abstracts water, makes it safe to drink and delivers it to customers’ taps.

He said: "I am currently working on a major review of EU drinking water quality legislation which is going through the European Parliament. Access to safe, clean and affordable drinking water is crucial and its essential that legislation covering this takes account of the latest scientific and health evidence.

“It is also key to find ways to improve access to clean and safe drinking water for groups of people without access. Promoting the drinking of safe tap water is also an important sustainability priority and can help reduce the use of plastics."

Tom Bridgewater, from Severn Trent, said: “We were delighted to host Mr Palmer and to be able to demonstrate the work we do to provide our customers with the highest quality, wonderful water.“He was also interested to see the work we’re doing to upgrade the site and to make sure supplies in the area are resilient for the future.

“We’re currently investing more than £22m on new equipment and technology at the site that will make sure our customers keep receiving the best quality water for many years to come.”

Severn Trent’s water treatment works in Church Wilne provides water for people across the East Midlands. In total the company supplies more than eight million customers across England and Wales with more than 1.8bn litres of water every day – the equivalent of 720 Olympic sized swimming pools full of drinking water.