[9][10] Surrey has few surface water sources, but two major aquifers, one of chalk and the other of Lower Greensand, across the county from east to west.

To the north of SES Water's area, the chalk appears as outcrops from the tertiary beds which lie on top of it, and there are springs at the Bookhams, Fetcham, Leatherhead and Sutton as a consequence.

[12] Sutton and East Surrey Water has been formed by a number of mergers and takeovers of these smaller companies.

Following the opening of the London and Brighton Railway in 1841, a community had been established at "Red Hill" or Warwick Town, and as it was growing fast, the businessmen were keen to supply it with water.

Reigate Corporation also failed in this course of action, and so resorted to promoting a rival bill, which would have allowed them to alter the rates and charges that East Surrey Water could set.

[12] Leatherhead and District Water had been established in 1883, when an Act of Parliament was granted which created the company, and authorised them to build wells and a pumping station on land close to the River Mole and the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, in the parish of Fetcham, just to the west of Leatherhead.

[15] They also drew water from a borehole in Waterway Road, where the original buildings lasted until 1992, when they were demolished to make way for housing.

[18] The source of water for the Leatherhead pumping station is still a series of ten artesian wells near the millpond at Fetcham.

The new company could supply water for public and private use to the villages of Limpsfield, Oxted, Titsey, Tatsfield, Edenbridge and parts of Westerham.

[25] However, the Chelsham and Woldingham Waterworks Company Limited were still independent in 1910, when they applied to the Board of Trade, using the provisions of the Gas and Waterworks Facilities Act 1870, for an Order to allow them to continue providing water to Chelsham, Woldingham, and parts of Limpsfield, Oxted and Titsey, excluding the area already serviced by Limpsfield and Oxted Water.

The Act extended their jurisdiction, enabling them to supply water to Chiddingstone, Hever, parts of Brasted and Penshurst, all in Kent, and Hartfield in Sussex.

[13] Dorking has had a public water supply from 1738, when a waterworks was built by Resta Patching, a local Quaker.

[36] East Surrey Water built a new works on Beech Close in 1965, with pumping controlled by electric motors, and diesel generators to maintain operations during a power cut.

[38] In a quite separate development, the Sutton and Cheam Water Company was established in 1863, with offices on Carshalton Road.

The new company would be responsible for supplying potable water to Banstead, Beddington, Carshalton, Cheam, Cuddington, Ewell, Morden, Sutton, Wallington and Woodmansterne.

Among the miscellaneous provisions were the right to "break up and interfere with" streets, roads, lanes, bridges and other places, in order to install water mains.

[40] Under the terms of the East Surrey Water Act 1896, there was some interchange of areas of supply between the two companies, particularly in Banstead, Kingswood and Ewell.

Specific mention was made of two existing pipelines supplying the area, and authorisation for the construction of a third, to a new water tower in Kingswood, was obtained.

[13] Another Act of Parliament was obtained in 1915, and a Board of Trade Order to temporarily increase charges for the water supplied in 1919.

[44] The main purpose of an Act obtained in 1929 was to restructure the way in which the company was financed, and to allow them to raise additional capital.

[45] By 1958, the company had three works, at Sutton, Cheam and Woodmansterne, all of which abstracted water from deep wells in the underlying chalk aquifer.

It is responsible for water supply to an area of 322 square miles (835 km2), providing this service to a population of 655,000 and to some 17,000 businesses, including Gatwick Airport.

[47] In October 2021 consumers supplied by the Westwood treatment works (properties in and around Oxted) were warned to boil all drinking water because of contamination by E.coli.

This is being achieved in three stages, corresponding to the Asset Management Plan (AMP) funding periods for UK water companies.