A multi-million pound investment to pump water into the homes of 200,000 people in towns including Burton has been completed.

South Staffs Water celebrated the resolution of the project as part of its ongoing commitment to providing a safe and reliable, high-quality water supply for current and future generations.

Michael Fabricant, MP for Lichfield – which includes Lichfield where the new water facility is situated - joined South Staffs Water employees, contractors and partners at an official ceremony to mark the installation of the new ultra-violet (UV) water treatment facility at the company’s Seedy Mill Treatment Works.

The project has involved converting two underground wet contact tanks into dry chambers to house a new state-of-the-art facility which will add an additional stage using ultra-violet light to disinfect the water supply.

Water will be taken from Blithfield Reservoir, near Abbots Bromley, and pumped to the nearby Seedy Mill Treatment Works, near Fradley. Once cleaned and treated it will then be pumped into the network which includes storage reservoirs and then released into the local supply as needed.

The works can treat and pump up to 26 million gallons of water per day and serves a population of 200,000 people in the South Staffs Water area of supply including Burton, Tamworth and Cannock.

Pete Aspley, wholesale service delivery directory for South Staffs Water, said: “The use of UV light as a disinfection system is standard practice in the water industry.

"It is a proven, regulated and environmentally friendly technology that ensures water is free from harmful organisms. It also means less chlorine is needed, reducing the risk of issues with taste and odour.”

The project has involved installation of more than 120 valves and four UV reactors, each containing 30 quartz tubes. The facility is one of the largest UV water treatment plants in the UK.

Mr Aspley added: “This is part of the commitment in our current five-year business plan to invest more than £190 million in our assets that, as well as water treatment works, includes more than 6,000km of pipes, boreholes reservoirs and pumping stations.

“We need to ensure this network can continue to operate to provide a safe and reliable water supply for current and future generations.”