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Procurement policy
Welsh Water has implemented a new procurement policy, using specialist providers for the day-to-day operation of assets and much of the delivery of the capital programme. All contracts are actively managed against key performance indicators. United Utilities won the contract for the day-to-day operation of water and sewerage assets.

The capital programme, some £650m over the period to March 2005, has been awarded to a strategic group of 12 partners. This alliance includes Amec, Galliford Try, Laing Utilities, Meica Process, Morrison Construction, Paterson Candy and United Utilities. These partners, along with Welsh Water, will share any financial "pain or gain" to meet the overall capital programme.

Current and future projects
In the five-year period April 2000 to March 2005, Dwr Cymru agreed with the water regulator, the Office of Water Services, to invest £1.11bn (in 2000 prices) on upgrading, improving and maintaining its water and waste water assets. In current prices, this equates to about £1.2bn.

In November 2001, the company announced that it was going to invest an additional £41m in reducing sewerage flooding, enhancing water resources in mid and south Ceredigion, accelerating the refurbishment of some wastewater treatment plants and providing additional water treatment processes.

In the six months to September 2002, the company invested £116m on its capital programme, compared with £77m in the same period in 2001, a rise of 50%. It is estimated that this expenditure will reach about £300m in the year to March 2003.

In its report and accounts for 2002, Welsh Water forecast that this level of investment will fall in 2003/04, to about £220m.

The company is on target to meet its five-year investment programme. This infers that its expenditure in the final year of the current review period, April 2004 to March 2005, is likely to remain at the £200-250m level.

Reducing pollution in 700 of the region's 3500 combined sewer overflows is a key area of improvement. In 2001/02, this element of the capital programme amounted to £37m.

Essential information
Glas Cymru Cyfyngedig, a not-for-profit company, is the parent company of Dwr Cymru. It was set up in April 2000 with the sole purpose of acquiring Welsh Water from Hyder. This acquisition was completed in May 2001.

Welsh Water is the sixth largest water and sewerage company in England and Wales and supplies water to about 3 million people living in Wales and some parts of England.

The water regulator, Ofwat, has started the consultation process for investment plans for the five-year period starting in April 2005, the Asset Management Plan 4.

One change announced already by the regulator is that water franchises will run with a termination notice of 25 years. They had been set at 10 years.