MORE than a quarter of the water bowsers distributed in

Gloucestershire are still missing.

A total of 1,800 bowsers - mobile vessels filed with fresh

water - were planted across Gloucestershire during last

summer's floods.

They provided water for thousands of homes which were left

without a water supply after the Mythe water treatment plant

flooded, contaminating supplies.

Today it emerged that Severn Trent has only recovered 75 per

cent of the bowsers.

Around 300 are thought to have been stolen and sold on -

some on eBay - while dozens of others have been vandalised.

Meanwhile Severn Trent today claimed it had made “good

progress” since last summer's disaster.

In a statement issued today the company said:

A year on from the floods that gripped large parts of

Gloucestershire last summer, Severn Trent Water is able to

report good progress on measures it has taken to protect water

supplies across the region.

“Last summer's events brought into sharp focus for all the

utilities of the importance of being prepared for such

emergencies, and the need for all agencies to work together,”

said Severn Trent's Chief Executive Tony Wray.

“We've learned many lessons from the floods and can now show

resulting improvements in our flood defences, in our long-term

water supply resilience which means we will be able to

substitute one key asset with another without loss of supply;

and in our contingency planning should supplies fail.

Customers rightly place very high value on the continuity of

supply of both clean water and sewerage services, and support

long-term investment to secure this.”

He added: “Severn Trent has not been working in isolation on

these projects and over the past 12 months, has worked closely

with the Environment Agency and with local authorities to find

ways of ensuring that together, we are better able to cope with

such events.”

In the aftermath of the flooding, Severn Trent conducted a

thorough review of flood defences at all its key sites and has

already implemented a number of improvements ? with well over

£40m being spent around the county.

These improvements include:

· Installation of additional flood defences at the Mythe

Water

Treatment Works. Currently, these are semi permanent in

nature, but work

is under way to design a new permanent barrier. Much work

has yet to be

done on this (we are currently at feasibility study and

outline design

stage) and it will take around two-three years before any

new, permanent

defences can be constructed.

· A £12m programme of works to alleviate sewage flooding

problems in

Gloucester.

· Additional measures and expansion work (£3.3m) at Big

Normans sewage

pumping station in Longlevens in Gloucester.

The company is also planning a £25m network reinforcement

project in Gloucestershire which will help secure supplies for

its customers in the future.

Severn Trent acknowledged that there were other areas

highlighted during the flooding where improvements could be

made, and has taken a number of additional measures as a

result.

A major issue concerned the location and operation of water

bowsers. These were used to supply those without on-tap water

with a supply that could be used for drinking and cooking.

Tony Wray said: “We have spent some time looking at how the

deployment of bowsers had worked, and the associated problems.

Calling on third party advice from logistics experts, we have

developed a new approach,including the use of satellite

navigation and imagery, and more detailed information regarding

the right locations for the bowsers. We put this new approach

to the test in Leicester in May and the results showed marked

improvements.

“We have also put other measures in place that we believe

would enable us to continue to provide our customers with piped

water supplies. However, should the events of last summer be

repeated, we are confident that the revised bowser plans would

enable us to make more effective use of emergency supplies if

necessary.”

Another issue that became apparent during the floods was

that there was some confusion over the way Severn Trent

labelled different districts, often for historical reasons. The

way it described locations didn't always match up to customers'

understanding of them ? so it has amended and updated its

systems accordingly.

For many customers in the affected areas, the impact of the

emergency went much deeper than simply leaving them without

water supplies. In recognition of the difficulties many people

faced during the summer and beyond, Severn Trent Water set up a

special £3.5m recovery fund for the county.

The company worked with local authorities, voluntary

organisations and other key local stakeholders to determine how

it could use these funds in a way which ensures the money goes

to local projects which need it most, and makes a genuine

contribution to the local economy.

These are just some of the projects to benefit:

· Rescue hovercraft for Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue

service

· Restored footpaths across the district of Stroud

· Funding for Gloucestershire First in boosting the local

tourist

economy

· Money to help retailers and other businesses in

Tewkesbury,

Winchcombe and Bishop's Cleeve get back on their feet

· Extra community flood protection in Tewkesbury and Stroud

district

· New rescue boat for the local RNLI

· Restored footbridge in Sapperton

· Largest single contribution to the Gloucester Flood Relief

Fund -

financial help for those in hardship

· Help for Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust in restoring

habitats

· Water rescue equipment for Cheltenham Animal Centre.