Cheam softening

Increased water hardness from Cheam Treatment Works

We're pleased to confirm our teams have now finished making important repairs to our softening infrastructure at Cheam Water Treatment Works.

We re-started the operation to soften the water on Monday (14 October) and you should notice your water returning to normal.

The main areas supplied by our Cheam Water Treatment Works include: Cheam, Sutton, Worcester Park, Ewell, Morden, Carshalton, Carshalton Beeches and South Sutton.

We are unique in the water industry in having a legal obligation to soften the groundwater we treat, and we have made significant capital investment in our softening capability over recent years.

We are extremely proud of our water quality, which is industry-leading as confirmed by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) in its 2024 report.

To learn more about Water Quality in your area, or to read our factsheets, visit our Water Quality page. 

To help you re-set your domestic appliances, such as dishwashers, the hardness of the water now that we have resumed softening at Cheam is provided below and is shown in different units:

• Calcium (mg/l) - 80
• Calcium Carbonate (mg/l) - 200.0
• Millimols - 2.00
• German (°dH) - 11.20
• French (°f) - 20.06
• °Clark (or °e) - 14.01

Finally, we want to thank you for your patience and understanding while these repairs have been ongoing.

Page last updated 18/10/24

FAQs:

Why do you need to soften the water?

We are unique in the water industry in having a legal obligation to soften the groundwater we treat, and we have made significant capital investment in our softening capability over recent years.

We are also extremely proud of our water quality, which is industry-leading as confirmed by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) in its 2024 report.

Why did you stop softening my water?

We had to temporarily pause our operation to soften the water while we made important repairs to our softening infrastructure. 

My water tastes odd, are there any health risks if I drink it?

We’d like to reassure you there are no health concerns associated with the increased water hardness and the water can be consumed and used as normal. You may however have noticed a slight change to the taste of your water, an increase in limescale and a film on cups of tea, for example.

If you’d like more information on increased scale and water hardness you can read our factsheet here.

I have a number of medical conditions and am worried this water will affect my health – how can you help?

We’d like to reassure you there are no health concerns associated with the increased water hardness and the water can be consumed and used as normal.

If you need any additional support, we’re here to help and you can contact our Extra Care team on 01737 785606. Or email us at extracare@seswater.co.uk.

Will you providing me with compensation?

We will not be compensating customers directly. Water softening is a performance commitment with our regulator, Ofwat, and we receive a financial penalty if we do not meet our softening targets. Any financial penalty is deducted from the subsequent year's revenue we are able to collect from customers. Therefore, next year's bill will reflect any penalty for the current year's performance. To confirm, in this instance we would reduce the amount we can collect from customers, rather than issuing a refund.

Is this just another example of water companies under investing in their infrastructure?

We are unique in the water industry in having a legal obligation to soften the groundwater we treat, and we have made significant capital investment in our softening capability over recent years.

The repairs we need to make are routine and our teams are working as hard and fast as possible to return our customers’ water hardness to normal levels.

Did you stop water softening as you are now part of the Pennon Group?

Our softening operation has not been impacted in any way since becoming part of the Pennon Group.

Is water softening another way of saving money?

Water softening is an expensive process, which we a have a legal obligation to maintain. Furthermore we have made significant capital investment in our softening capability over recent years.

Ofwat hasn’t approved plans to increase bills, is this SES Water beginning to implement cost-cutting measures?

We have only temporarily paused our softening process while we make important repairs to our infrastructure. As soon as these repairs have been completed we will resume softening as normal from our Cheam Water Treatment Works.