We understand that you may be concerned about the current Coronavirus situation and how it might impact on the essential services you get from Northumbrian Water Group.
That’s why we want to reassure you about the steps we’re taking, and the plans we’re putting in place to make sure you’ve every confidence your water and waste water services remain reliable and secure.
Firstly, and most importantly, we’re all washing our hands. Lots. So please everyone join us in doing this regularly and help to stop Coronavirus spreading.
Like everyone else, we’re closely following all of the latest government guidance and NHS advice and doing everything we can to help protect our employees, customers and our operations.
Focusing on resilience, we want you to know that have robust plans in place to make sure that our services and operational sites continue to run and that the water keeps flowing for all of our customers. You shouldn’t notice any changes here.
We’ve started to implement these plans already and although you shouldn’t notice any major changes to the service we provide, you might see some small differences.
Things like events being rescheduled, meter readings being delayed and non-essential work being cancelled. We might need to ask you a few more questions if we’re carrying out home visits and if you’re visiting any of our sites.
It’s all so we can focus on keeping our people and our customers safe and our services running.
We’ll make sure you know about any changes we’re making.
Keep checking our website and social media channels for the latest information.
We also have some useful Q+As below that might help answer some of the questions you may have.
Finally, make sure you visit
www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
for the most up to date government information and advice.
Is my drinking water safe?
We know that the COVID19 virus cannot be transferred via water. So there is no risk to our customers and your drinking water. We are confident that any trace of the virus would be eliminated very effectively by water treatment, especially chlorination.
And any virus, present in sewage, would be substantially removed by wastewater treatment and undergo deterioration and loss of infectivity in the environment.
Will all of this extra hand washing we’re being asked to do mean you’ll run out of water?
No, there’s no chance of that. We have sufficient resource levels and this is not a risk. We would always actively encourage people to follow the PHE guidelines and wash their hands more often.
Will my bill go up then, as I’m using more water?
If you are on a water meter then yes, you may see a tiny increase to your bill during this period. But this should only be by a very small amount and it’s important to maintain good hygiene at this time.
Can I get a refund or discount?
The amount of extra water needed during this period will only be a small increase and any bill increases should be minimal. If you're struggling with your bill, go to www.eswater.co.uk/bill-help for support.
What happens if one of your employees who has access to our water gets Coronavirus?
We know that the virus cannot be transferred via water. Only person to person close contact and so there is no risk to your water supplies here.
We have been working to ensure our resilience plans are as strong as possible to ensure that regardless of what happens we can maintain people’s water and waste water services.
What happens if all of your staff become poorly, will the water stop?
We have been monitoring the situation for a long time and have been working to ensure our resilience plans are as strong as possible and that we are prepared for any eventuality.
We’ve been increasing the numbers of our operational people who can help run our critical functions at our water treatment works and waste water treatment works, to ensure that regardless of what happens we can maintain peoples’ water and waste water services.
What’s happening with home visits and if your employee needs to come into my home?
Protecting our people and our customers is a priority for us and so if you, or anyone else in your home, has COVID19 symptoms or is self-isolating then please let us know prior to all booked appointments so we can make alternative arrangements. If one of our employees is calling without an appointment then they will ask the question at the door and respond accordingly.
What can you do to help?
Keep washing your hands regularly and keep up-to-date with the latest NHS and Government advice.