THAMES WATER AMP4-II

Improvement of water and waste water infrastructures in London and the Thames Valley.

The project consists of a large number of water supply and wastewater improvement schemes located in London and the Thames Valley, which comprise the second phase of TWU’s capital programme for the 2005-2010 period. The capital programme is driven by the need to maintain the existing asset base, raise efficiency, secure supply and service to customers as well as to increase drinking water quality and to comply with EU Directives. The industry regulator OFWAT, together with the Environmental Agency (EA) and the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), have specifically approved the proposed investments and will closely monitor their planning and implementation to ensure that the required quality standards are met. The project will therefore contribute to maintaining the borrower’s compliance with the highest applicable national and EU environmental standards.

The promoter complies with the requirements of Directive 97/11/EC. The promoter carries out Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures where required by the competent authorities and mitigating measures are applied as appropriate. TWU’s compliance with effluent discharge permits and drinking water quality standards is independently monitored by the EA and the DWI. It is the EA and the DWI that determine TWU’s framework for the environmental investments for each regulated period. Based on EA’s and DWI’s requirements, TWU proposes to the regulator a set of necessary environmental investments. Each environmental investment proposal is then reviewed by an independent consultant appointed by the regulator before being approved and taken into consideration in the regulator’s price setting. The implementation and compliance of each environmental scheme is monitored by the local offices of EA as well as by the DWI. The project is expected to be compliant with Article 6 of the Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC; however, details will be assessed during appraisal.

The programme falls under Procurement Directive 93/38/EC and its amendment 98/4/EC. TWU fully complies with the requirements of EU Directives on procurement and has an impeccable track record from past projects. It applies a policy of international tendering for large contract packages, with annual publication of the investment programme in the Official Journal, in accordance with EU Directives.