South West Water has invested £14.5 million to upgrade Wendron and Restormel Water Treatment Works in Cornwall, which between them supply over three-quarters of the county.

We already have some of the best tap water in the country but this will deliver even better drinking water to our customers in Cornwall.

At Wendron, near Helston, five new granular activated carbon (GAC) filters have been installed and the existing rapid gravity filters have been refurbished. At Restormel, near Lostwithiel, six GAC filters have been installed.

Granular activated carbon is designed to remove natural and manmade organic matter sometimes present in rivers and reservoirs supplying water treatment works.

Customers supplied by Wendron were the first to benefit from the upgrades when water that has been through the GAC treatment process was introduced into supply from Tuesday 30 September 2014.

A similar approach is being taken at Restormel and customers started receiving a blend including the new water on Thursday 4 December 2014.

In the short term, the smell or taste of chlorine may become more noticeable to some customers. For this reason, we will bring the new filters on line one at a time and blend the new and improved water with the water currently produced by the works to ensure a smooth transition.

The level of chlorine is carefully managed and monitored at all times.

Read more about tastes and odours here.