Scottish Water Always Serving Scotland Business Plan 2015 to 2021 Business Plan Appendices March 2014 March March 2014 www.scottishwater.co.uk Appendix 1: About Scottish Water Our vital role Scottish Water is always serving Scotland, providing vital services which are essential to daily life. We provide clean, safe and high quality drinking water to 2.4 million households and 159,000 business premises across Scotland. Every day we provide 1.3 billion litres of clear, fresh drinking water and take away 840 million litres of waste water, which we treat before returning to the environment. We capture rainwater in reservoirs and take water from rivers or lochs which we then treat to ensure the water is clear and fresh. We distribute this high quality treated water through an extensive network of pipes and storage tanks to meet our customers’ essential household needs when they turn on their taps for drinking, cooking, bathing and washing, for business process requirements and recreational uses such as car washing and watering the garden. We collect the waste water and surface water from customers’ homes and business premises along with some of the surface water run off from paved areas, roofs and roads, taking this away and treating it so that we can safely return it to rivers or the sea. In providing these services we operate, maintain and invest in treatment works, pipelines and other assets that will last for many decades, serving both current and future generations. We continue to deliver excellent value for our customers. We are delivering one of the largest investment programmes in the UK water industry during 2010 to 2015. This at a time when our average household charge remains the lowest in Great Britain. In 2013/14, the average household charge in Scotland is £54 lower per year than the average household charge in England and Wales. The quality of our drinking water is at an all-time high and our investment is delivering the benefits Scotland needs. Customers’ charges go towards maintaining and improving: 29,910 252 miles of water pipes water treatment works 1,865 31,064 waste water miles of sewer pipes treatment works Our Vision Scottish Water’s vision is to be Scotland’s most valued and trusted business, one that we can all be proud of. This is supported through our vision pillars as set out below: Appendix 1: About Scottish Water 2 Appendix 1: About Scottish Water 3 How the water industry is run in Scotland Scottish Water is a public sector body, classified as a public corporation, and is answerable to Scottish Ministers. The water industry in Scotland is regulated as shown in Figure 1.1. Figure 1.1: How the water industry is regulated in Scotland The Scottish Parliament Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Holds Scottish Ministers to account and Responsible for investigating complaints about regularly calls Scottish Water executives to its public services in Scotland, including Scottish committees to give progress updates. Water, once the services’ complaints procedure has been completed and sharing lessons from Scottish Ministers complaints to improve the delivery of public Set the objectives for Scottish Water and services. appoint the Chair and Non-executive Members. Consumer Futures (formally Consumer Scottish Water Focus Scotland) Responsible for providing water and waste Responsible for representing the views and water services to household customers and interests of Scottish Water customers and is a wholesale Licensed Providers; delivers the statutory consultee for matters relating to the investment priorities of Ministers within the Scottish water industry. financing allowed by the Water Industry Commission for Scotland. Customer Forum Ensures that the customer’s voice is at the Water Industry Commission for Scotland heart of the price setting process and key Economic regulator; sets charges and reports decisions that affect the services Scottish on costs and performance. Water customers pay for. Drinking Water Quality Regulator Other Regulators Responsible for protecting public health by Like other utilities, Scottish Water is also ensuring compliance with drinking water quality regulated by the Health and Safety Executive regulations. (HSE) and the Scottish Road Works Commissioner. Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) Responsible for environmental protection and improvement. Appendix 1: About Scottish Water 4 Our statutory obligations Extensive legislation governs the quality of the products that we supply and the impact of our activities on the environment. We work with the Scottish Government, the Drinking Water Quality Regulator for Scotland (DWQR) and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to understand the implications of legislation for Scotland and on how we provide our services. Scottish Water was constituted under the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002. Drinking Water Our duties to provide a wholesome supply of water sufficient for domestic purposes are set out in the Water (Scotland) Act 1980. We also have an obligation to connect customers, at reasonable cost. In addition to the 1980 Act, key legislation for drinking water can be found in: • 98/83/EC Drinking Water Directive • The Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 2001 • The Cryptosporidium (Scottish Water) Directions 2003 • The Water Quality (Scotland) Regulations 2010 The independent Drinking Water Quality Regulator (DWQR), appointed by Scottish Ministers under the Water Industry (Scotland) 2002 Act, has the duty to ensure that Scottish Water complies with the legislation to provide wholesome drinking water. DWQR has powers of enforcement to obtain information from Scottish Water and to enter and inspect Scottish Water premises such as water treatment works. Waste water and the environment Our duties to drain, treat and deal effectively with domestic sewage, surface water and trade effluent are set out in the Sewerage (Scotland) Act 1968. We also have an obligation to provide customer connections, at reasonable cost. The main drivers for improvement in environmental water quality have been, and continue to be, European Directives that have subsequently been transposed into Scots law. The main European Directives are • The Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) • The Water Framework Directive • The revised Bathing Waters Directive • The Waste Framework, Industrial Emissions and Contaminated Land Directives • The Shellfish Directive • The Priority Substances Directive The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), constituted under the Environment Act 1995, authorises all Scottish Water’s water abstraction from the environment and discharges back to the environment. SEPA has powers to obtain information from Scottish Water, enter land and /or inspect premises owned and operated by Scottish Water, and to take enforcement action where necessary. Quality and Standards Quality and Standards is the Scottish Government’s planning process by which the improvements required in the water industry in Scotland are set. The improvements are expressed as Ministers' Objectives, or Ministerial Directions, and cover improvements such as: • Drinking water quality • The environment • Customer service • Mitigate and adapt to climate change Appendix 1: About Scottish Water 5 The planning process is assisted by industry stakeholders such as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Drinking Water Quality Regulator, Consumer Futures, and Scottish Water, as well as a public consultation on the improvements proposed. Quality and Standards 3, the current plan, covers a nine year horizon from 2006 to 2015. Quality and Standards 4 will cover a twelve year period 2015 to 2027 and two regulatory periods. It is acknowledged that planning over a longer horizon enables us to plan investment more effectively and efficiently. We have based our plan on the draft of the Ministerial Directions as at September 2013, as set out in Appendix 3. Ministers’ Objectives for each regulatory period are detailed by a legally binding direction on Scottish Water, which require us to deliver a specific set of outcomes during 2015 to 2021 period and to plan and prepare for the period 2021 to 2027. The Ministerial Directions for each regulatory period are underpinned by a list of locations at which improvements are required. This is known as the "Technical Expression" and is agreed prior to each regulatory period between Scottish Water and its regulators. This is one of the key documents which informs the Strategic Review of Charges and therefore the charges that customers must pay. Ministers have set up a specific group, the Output Monitoring Group (OMG), to ensure that Ministers' Objectives are delivered. The OMG brings together all major stakeholders in the Scottish water industry including the Scottish Government, Scottish Water, Water Industry Commission for Scotland, Drinking Water Quality Regulator, Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Consumer Futures (Scotland). This group is chaired by the Scottish Government and operates to its protocol and remit. Scottish Water Business Plan 2015 to 2021 March 2014 Appendix 2: Innovation in delivering services In summary: • Ongoing innovation is critical to meeting customers’ expectations for service and price in the future and achieving our vision to be Scotland’s most valued and trusted business, one we can all be proud of. • Innovation has been instrumental in delivering the high service levels and low charges that customers are benefiting from today. Our plan for 2015 to 2021 builds