Environment

Site management of our landholdings

We own hundreds of sites and many landholdings across the region. These range from the smallest pumping station to the land on which a major sewage treatment works is built.

In addition, we also own sections of land around our water supply sites for source protection purposes. We recognise that we have a responsibility to conserve and enhance this land for biodiversity and this is reflected in one of the three key aims of our Biodiversity Action Plan, “to work to enhance biodiversity on Wessex Water land, such as the sites of treatment works”.

Our landholding represents a considerable resource for biodiversity. It consists of many different habitats which are home to a wide variety of species, for example:

• chalk grassland sites in Wiltshire
• heathland habitat within Dorset
• open water, marsh and Fen within Somerset
• ancient woodland around Bath.

Some of our sites enjoy the very highest levels of protection under UK and European law due to the quality of habitat and we are continually working to maintain these sites. We own approximately 350 hectares of land designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and are working towards the national target set by the Government to achieve 95% of these sites in favourable condition by 2010 (in 2006, 85% of our sites were in favourable condition).

We also work with a range of partners who manage some of the best sites for wildlife on our behalf.

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