Conservation work forms a key part of our business and we work with environmentalists to deliver ecologically sound and often wildlife-friendly improvements.

For example, we have built artificial holts for otters at Liss Wastewater Treatment Works on the banks of the River Rother, near Petersfield. The holts, consisting of an underground chamber with an entrance on the riverbank, are aimed at helping the growth of the local otter population.

Working with experts from the Sussex Falconry Centre, we have installed Raptor nest boxes at our water supply and wastewater treatment works to encourage owls and kestrels to set up home there.

And we have given ponds in Sussex a spring clean to protect the breeding grounds of great crested newts. The work took place when the company upgraded a water main running from Horsham to Henfield, which supplies 6,000 customers, as part of a £400,000 improvement project.