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00:04 The health of our rivers is important to us all, whether that is for the people who live nearby
00:08 or those who use rivers to enjoy recreational activities.
00:12 Improving river water quality has been a priority for United Utilities for decades.
00:17 Here in Liverpool, I am standing on top of our £200 million extension to the city's wastewater treatment works,
00:23 continuing our investment programme to improve the River Mersey that began here over 30 years ago.
00:29 Investment like this has made a significant contribution to the transformation of the city's waterfront,
00:34 supporting its economic renaissance by making it an attractive place to invest.
00:39 In March 2022, we published 30 commitments to kick-start a river revival over the next three years.
00:47 Better Rivers, Better North West is a four-point plan setting out our commitments to
00:52 make sure our operations progressively reduce impact to river health,
00:57 to be open and transparent about our performance and plans,
01:01 to make rivers beautiful and support others to improve and care for them,
01:05 and to create more opportunities for everyone to enjoy rivers and waterways.
01:11 Between 2020 and 2025, we are investing £230 million from our base programme
01:17 to support a one-third sustainable reduction in the number of spills recorded from our storm overflows by 2025.
01:24 In May 2022, we also committed to invest a further £250 million over and above this allowance
01:30 to improve environmental outcomes, including support for our Better Rivers programme.
01:35 Ensuring the quality of the water that we all want in rivers cannot be achieved by United Utilities on its own.
01:41 There are many other factors that contribute to the health of our rivers and waterways,
01:45 and we all need to work together to reduce their impact.
01:49 For example, how can we work with farmers on reducing nutrient runoff from fields into rivers?
01:55 And what can developers do to better manage rainfall and slow the flow of water into drains?
02:00 Our plan includes the launch of a community fund to support local river health initiatives,
02:05 championed by local people.
02:08 And working alongside the Rivers Trust, there will be opportunities for people to volunteer
02:12 as citizen scientists to collect data on river health.
02:15 We also held a Rivers Summit and Environmental AGM so that we could talk to North West stakeholders
02:20 about our plans and involve the community in delivering our commitments.
02:25 We're confident that our plans will improve rivers across the North West,
02:29 bringing communities together as we join forces to help our bodies of water flourish again,
02:35 making the North West greener, healthier and stronger.
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