THE Conservative prospective Parliamentary candidate for Central Devon, has spoken of the challenges ahead of meeting the concerns of consumers in Devon and the South West over the size of their water bills.

Mel Stride was speaking after going to the Pynes Water Treatment Works, near Cowley Bridge, Exeter, on a fact-finding visit.

The visit followed a recent meeting with Chris Loughlin, the chief executive of South West Water, arranged to give Mel a greater understanding of the company and its work.

Speaking after his visit, Mel said he had arranged to go to the site to see at first-hand how the treatment works were run and to better understand some of the challenges facing South West Water and consumers alike.

Mel said one of the main issues is that the three per cent of the nation's population, who are based in the South West, are paying to clean up 33 per cent of the nation's bathing water.

He said this inevitably adds to the size of water bills.

Mel explained: "There are various potential options being debated at the moment as to how water costs in the South West might be eased.

"If elected, this is an area where I would like to try to make a contribution. My visits to South West Water have resulted from my desire to better understand the issues involved."

The Pynes Water Treatment Works currently supply 60 million litres of water a day serving the whole of Exeter and various other parts of Devon, including around a third of Crediton.

The Works was built after the city's 1832 cholera outbreak that claimed the lives of 440 people. The outbreak led to a rethinking of how and where Exeter's water supply was taken from the River Exe. Eventually, it was decided to move the water source from Exe Street near the city centre to the less polluted Pynes Leat.