FORT WASHINGTON, PA, Sept. 8, 2005 -- Severn Trent Water International, the global operating and management arm of Severn Trent Services' parent company, Severn Trent Plc, is helping provide developing countries in Africa with sustainable access to clean water and provision of adequate sanitation through Partners for Water and Sanitation (PAWS). PAWS is a partnership between government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the private sector and the public at large whose aim is to contribute to achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), international development targets for water and sanitation.
Severn Trent Water International has worked with partners in the United Kingdom, including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Department for International Development (DFID). The company also has worked with the Department for Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) in South Africa and government organizations in Uganda and Nigeria. Working with DWAF in South Africa, the company has actively participated in delivering seminars focused on issues of change management and managing contractors and consultants. As the lead partner in Nkomazi Municipality (just south of the Kruger National Park), Severn Trent Water International worked with municipal officials to support the delivery of improved water and wastewater services in the Municipality's supply area. The company has also hosted visits to company sites for South African government officials to study the roles and responsibilities of the U.K. government, private operators, regulators and customer groups within the water sector.
In Uganda, Severn Trent Water International hosted a one-day visit and seminar for representatives of the Government of Uganda aimed at providing a perspective on regulation from the view of a private operator.
Activities in Nigeria have included a scoping survey to assess how partnership skills can improve water and wastewater services to the poor in small towns in Benue State through a partnership team consisting of the private sector, the NGO Water Aid and government.
PAWS was founded in 2002 as a response to British Prime Minister Tony Blair's challenge to the CEOs of the United Kingdom's private companies to aid in the development of innovative strategies to promote sustainability throughout developing countries. For additional information, visit the PAWS web site at www.partnersforwater.org.
Severn Trent Services (www.severntrentservices.com), based in Fort Washington, Pa., is a leading supplier of water and wastewater treatment solutions. The company's broad range of products and services is concentrated around disinfection, instrumentation, and filtration technologies, pipeline analysis, rehabilitation and repair services, contract operating services and state-of-the-art residential metering products and services. Our international management services business, Severn Trent Water International Ltd, provides support in all aspects of water and wastewater utility operational development and business transformation. Severn Trent Services is a member of the Severn Trent Plc group of companies.
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