Sefton Council has awarded a new water self supply contract with an estimated total value of £306,000 (inc VAT) to Waterscan Ltd.

The local authority, which is part of the Merseyside / Liverpool City Region area, was granted water and sewerage licenses by Ofwat in July 2020, with a retail authorisation limited to self-supply. The Council has a team in place that manages gas, electricity and water utility services for all council buildings and all schools in its area, as well as local care providers.

As part of the licence process Sefton Council entered a partnership agreement with Waterscan Ltd. in the form of a contractual agreement which saw Waterscan take on the role and responsibilities for the retail

functions including meter reading, market transactions, wholesaler management and finding further water efficiency savings. As such, Waterscan acts as the Managing Agent for Sefton Council and provides technical support and services.

Sefton Council deals directly with the wholesaler, United Utilities, without using a retailer but uses the services of the Managing Agent to ensure full legal compliance.

The new contract commenced on 1 October 2025 and runs to 30 September 2029, with a further possible one year extension option to 30 September 2030.