28 February 23
Affinity Water provides an update on partial water softening in Saffron Walden
Affinity Water is today letting its customers in Saffron Walden know that the company will not be reinstating partial water softening in the area, now or in the future, following customer consultation in 2021 and a thorough review into options for treatment.
The cost of reinstating partial softening through new equipment or an entirely new plant in the future – even if equipment passed the regulations – would be a multi-million pound project.
Furthermore, after extensive research, the water company has found there is currently no new equipment available on the market that meets the necessary water quality regulations of the water treatment process.
The demand for high volume softening for drinking water is low, which is why there are very few suppliers manufacturing this equipment. Saffron Walden was the only area to receive partially softened water for household consumption across Affinity Water’s customer base of 3.8million people in Southeast England, where the water is naturally hard.
Affinity Water’s Director of Asset Strategy and Capital Delivery, Steve Plumb said:
“We are very sorry that we will not be able to reinstate partially softened water for Saffron Walden. We have to make sure the service we provide is fair and balanced for all the customers we supply. If we were to reinstate partial water softening in Saffron Walden, other Affinity Water customers across our area would be subsidising an additional service they don’t receive themselves. We are conscious of the cost-of-living challenges that our customers may be facing and have to make sure the service we provide is fair for all of our customers that we supply.
“Whilst we regret that we are unable to reinstate partial softening, we would like to assure Saffron Walden residents that even though the water is ‘harder’ than they were previously used to, it’s still of the same high quality we have been providing across the region for well over 100 years.”
For more information, please visit www.affinitywater.co.uk/saffronwalden