Work is now underway on a £14 million upgrade of our College Avenue Water Treatment Works in Maidenhead.
We are committed to using the most up-to-date technology to ensure we provide the highest quality of drinking water to our customers.
This project is key to future proofing the top quality drinking water we already provide in the Maidenhead area.
As part of our ongoing programme to improve water supply infrastructure, the work will be carried out in two phases, with various new tanks and a UV plant being added to help improve the quality of water supplied to customers in the Maidenhead area.
The work will take place entirely within the water treatment works site, with construction beginning in July.
Our teams will mainly be working during normal office hours, although there may be some activity at weekends.
We will work as hard as possible to keep disruption to a minimum, however there may be construction noise from time to time and additional vehicle movements to and from the site.
This first phase of work is due to complete in the autumn of 2024, with updates to come during the project.
We have also submitted our planning application(opens in a new tab) to the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead for the second phase of the project, which forms a key part of our five year £489 million investment programme to improve water supply infrastructure across our supply area.
Frequently asked questions
Read the answers to our frequently asked questions on this project(opens in a new tab)Security fencing consultation results
We recently opened a consultation for the community to vote on a preferred option for the section of fence required in front of the temporary works in the first phase of the project to upgrade the site.
This followed discussions with our external Defra-accredited security experts, after receiving feedback from local residents, both directly and at the open day at the site in March.
The extended consultation deadline has now passed and we would like to thank everyone who took the time to register and cast their vote for their preferred option for the security fencing.
We can confirm that the most popular option was for black rigid mesh fencing, which received 83 per cent of the votes cast. Black palisade fencing was the second choice, with 17 per cent of the votes cast.
As a result of this vote, we now plan to proceed with the installation of black rigid mesh fencing on site.
Please note there will also be fencing required up to and including the front gate. For consistency, we are looking to use the same style as that enclosing the construction in the first phase, although this section will not require solid panelling behind.
Further security assessments will be undertaken, as required, within the second phase of the project.
We are still awaiting a decision on our planning application for the second phase of the project, which has been submitted to the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.
Security fencing at College Avenue
Following the feedback received from residents who have spoken to us both directly and at the open day at College Avenue Water Treatment Works in March, we understand that the colour and type of security fencing are key issues.
We know the fence height was a concern among the community and as the site is in a residential area, we are keen to work with you to agree a solution.
Considering the feedback received we have discussed your concerns with our external Defra-accredited security experts and although most security measures are dictated to us, they have agreed to us reducing the recommended fence height from three metres to 2.4 metres.
This is for the section of fence in front of the temporary works in the first phase of the project, which is located on the south side of the site (Castle Hill direction).
While most security measures are stated to us, we can give the local community a choice on the style and colour of fencing we install.
We are limited to offering two different styles, including one palisade fencing option, and two colours: black and green.
You can see examples of the security fencing required and cast your vote for your preferred option here(opens in a new tab).
Please note, you will need to register when prompted to be able to cast your vote.
You will have until Thursday, 11 July to cast your vote. Once the deadline has passed, we will let you know the final result.
Please note there will also be fencing required up to and including the front gate. For consistency, we are looking to use the same style of fencing to that enclosing the construction in the first phase, although this section will not require solid panelling behind.
Security fencing is not included as part of our planning application submitted to the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, but is subject to permitted development rights granted by parliament set out in law.
All water treatment works across the country must legally comply to certain security standards.
For the reasons previously outlined to residents, which include the increased risks of climbing and graffiti, a brick wall was not considered a viable option on this project and we are sorry that we cannot offer an alternative type of fencing.
We understand there were questions about why security fencing would not be required around the full perimeter of the site, but each building has different security ratings and therefore there are different security measures and requirements in place.
Further security assessments will be undertaken, as required, within the second phase of the project, which is subject to planning approval.
We would like to thank you for your feedback to date on our work and look forward to continuing to work with you to deliver this important project on site.
May project update
Work is continuing on the first phase of our upgrade project at College Avenue.
The pipework for the new above ground tank has now been installed and electrical work is currently ongoing.
Our planning application for the second phase of the project is currently still awaiting determination from the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, with a decision now expected in July.
April project update
We have now received delivery on site of the above ground suction tank with associated pipework and UV container for the first phase of the project.
The tank and container have now been positioned in place and we have started work on installing the above ground pipes.
In addition, work is underway to prepare a new access footpath near the tank as we continue to make good progress on the first phase.
March project update
We would like to thank everyone who attended our open day at College Avenue Water Treatment Works on Sunday.
More than 40 people joined tours to learn more about the water treatment process and our project to upgrade the site.
We appreciate your comments, questions and feedback about the ongoing work on site and our plans for the second phase of the project.
Following the event, we are now collating all the feedback received and reviewing how we may be able to reduce the impact of our work locally to be able to respond to the issues raised.
We plan to provide further updates via our web page and a regular newsletter, which you can sign up to by emailing community@southeastwater.co.uk.
Thank you to those who have already signed up to this and we plan to send the newsletter on a monthly basis, starting in April.
College Avenue open day
We will be holding an open day at our College Avenue Water Treatment Works on Sunday, 24 March, between 10am and 4pm.
This will be an opportunity for you to tour the site, see behind-the-scenes at how water is treated before it flows to your taps and to ask questions of our team and our plans to upgrade the site.
Due to constraints on the site, tours will be limited to six people at a time.
Please click this link(opens in a new tab) to book your tickets for a tour, via Eventbrite.
With the site being an operational water treatment works, we apologise that it is not suitable for anyone under the age of 16, those with limited mobility and/or who have accessibility requirements.
If anyone with mobility issues would like further information, please contact: community@southeastwater.co.uk.
January project update
We are continuing to work on an underground water tank on site, with steel reinforcement and installation of the tank roof in progress.
As part of this, the work we will provide shuttering and support to the structure and create a level working surface for the roof slab.
December project update
We are continuing to work on the underground tank on site, with steel fixing and shuttering to walls taking place.
Concrete works are also due to be completed before the end of the month as we continue with first phase of the project.
November project update
We have started work on the reinforcement of the base and walls for an underground tank on site at College Avenue.
In addition, we have also completed work on the excavation for a new valve chamber close to the existing building.
October project update
Following our drop-in event for the community in September, our planning application for the second phase of the project has now been submitted to the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.
Meanwhile, work continues on the first phase of the project and we have now successfully completed piling to support the foundations and the bulk excavation works for the underground tank on site.
We will provide further updates as we progress with the work on site.
September project update
Following our drop-in event at St Luke’s Community Hall on Wednesday evening, we are now continuing to prepare our planning application for phase two of the project to upgrade College Avenue, ahead of submitting this to the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead later this year.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank those people who have shared their comments with us on the project to date as we continue to work on phase one to add new tanks and a UV plant on site.
For anyone who was unable to attend the drop-in event, we have published a list of frequently asked questions and a feedback form on this page, which can be accessed by clicking the links above.
You can share your comments with us by completing the feedback form and sending it to: community@southeastwater.co.uk.
August project update
We have now completed our preparation work with piling for the first phase of work at the College Avenue water treatment works site.
Excavation work is now set to begin as we continue with the first phase of the project.
We will be holding a drop-in event next month to present our plans for the second phase, which is due to start next year.
The event will take place on Wednesday, 20 September from 4.30pm until 7pm at St Luke’s Community Hall in Norfolk Road, Maidenhead, SL6 7AT.
Our project team will attend the event to answer questions and we look forward to sharing our plans.
July project update
Work to prepare the water treatment works site is underway, with temporary accommodation for on-site workers now established and teams preparing the site for the upgrade.
In the near future you may see us working in roads close to the water treatment works as we need to undertake some drainage work. When approved and depending on the impact to residents, we will provide a further update.
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