Serco secures Northern Ireland Water contract

Serco has been re-awarded the contract to collect and transport water quality samples on behalf of Northern Ireland Water (NI Water). The five-year contract, which starts on 1 July 2014, is worth over £5m with an option for two single year extensions.

Serco will be responsible for collecting and transporting all regulatory water and waste water samples to agreed standards from various locations in Northern Ireland back to NI Water's state-of-the art laboratories in Belfast and Londonderry. The company expects to make more than 40,000 site visits each year.
The water samples are taken from service reservoirs, water treatment works, and taps in customers' homes. They also include a large proportion of operational samples which are generally taken after mains repair work.

Sam Hockman, Serco's Managing Director for Infrastructure Services, said: "We are delighted to have the opportunity to continue providing a high quality service to NI Water for another five years. Our team in Northern Ireland takes thousands of samples for testing each year to help ensure that the water supply in Northern Ireland is safe and clean. Their hard work, innovation and commitment are the reasons for our continued success."

George Butler, Director of Asset Management for NI Water, welcomed the appointment of Serco as its sampling partner and commented: "Sampling is often overlooked as an important aspect of delivering a high quality water and wastewater service to customers.  We rely on our sampling partner to deliver this aspect whatever the circumstances and without fail.  Following a competitive process we are pleased to continue to work in partnership with Serco for the next five years to continue to deliver our essential service to customers in Northern Ireland."

The current contract, awarded to Serco in June 2009, is due to end on 30 June 2014.

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