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Accessibility

United Utilities is committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of disability, capability or technology.

Table of Contents

Using the website

We aim to provide the most accessible experience possible and have implemented the following accessibility features:

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Navigation

  • Logical and consistent navigation
  • Links can be understood out of context
  • Links are highlighted on keyboard focus
  • Our logo links to the home page
  • Links open in the same window unless otherwise stated
  • Skip navigation link
  • Breadcrumb trail navigation
  • Site search and advanced search facilities
  • Site map

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Text

  • Text is in a large, readable font
  • Content is clear and uses simple language where possible
  • Headings are clear and use a logical structure
  • Text is divided into short paragraphs
  • Text size can be changed using the web browser

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Images

  • Images have descriptive alternative text
  • Decorative images have null alternative text

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Layout and colour

  • The layout of the website is consistent and logical
  • Text and backgrounds have a high level of colour contrast
  • The colour of the site can be changed using web browsers that support this feature
  • User style sheets can be applied using web browsers that support this feature

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Forms and tables

  • Form fields have appropriate text labels, fieldsets and legends
  • Forms have accessible error handling
  • Tables have not been used for layout purposes
  • Tables have appropriate summaries, captions and headings

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Links

Links to pages and other websites will open in the same window unless otherwise stated within the link text. For example:

Google search (opens in a new window)

Links to downloadable documents and files will open in a new window to avoid conflicting with assistive technologies. These links will use the following format:

Filename (File Type, File Size)

For example: Application Form (PDF, 1.7 MB)

You can open links in a new window by using the keyboard shortcut Shift+Enter (Internet Explorer for PC and Firefox for PC and Mac).

Please note: The keyboard shortcut for opening links in a new window may be different depending on your browser and operating system.

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Downloadable files

We have made files available to download in a variety of formats. The most common are Adobe Acrobat (.pdf), Microsoft Word (.doc), Microsoft Excel (.xls) and Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt). If you are unable to open these types of documents, please download and install the latest versions of the free viewer software:

As of 12/12/17 United Utilities are committed to providing accessible PDFs. Wherever possible we have also made our legacy PDF’s accessible also, however should you encounter a legacy PDF anywhere on the website, please contact us for an alternative format.

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Useful links

If you need more information about using this site’s features, general accessibility or using the web and your computer, we have provided some useful links to help:

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Accessibility limitations

Due to certain constraints, we have had to include technologies and features that may cause accessibility issues. These include:

  • Adobe PDF downloadable documents
  • Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint downloadable documents
  • Google Maps (third party map application)
  • reCAPTCHA (third party CAPTCHA application)

We are making every effort to overcome these limitations through improvements to their accessibility. Failing that, we have provided accessible alternatives.

If you need alternative versions of our downloadable documents (such as plain text or braille) or if you experience any accessibility problems with our site, please contact us.

United Utilities does not assume responsibility for third party applications.

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Accessibility guidelines

This site has been developed to conform to level AA of the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. These guidelines are the internationally recognised benchmark for building accessible websites. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) explains how to make websites more accessible for people with disabilities. Conformity to these guidelines also makes websites user-friendlier for everyone.

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Browser compatibility

The site has been cross-platform and cross-browser tested and is currently compatible with modern browsers including Microsoft Internet Explorer 11+, Mozilla Firefox 54+, Apple Safari 4+, Google Chrome 57+ and Opera 56+.

Please note: You may experience issues with older versions of these browsers or other web browsers. If you experience any problems, please feel free to contact us.

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Web standards and technologies

This website has been developed to conform to World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards for HTML (HyperText Mark-up Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). This website is reliant upon HTML and CSS to render content. Additional technologies including JavaScript have been utilised, however, this website is not reliant on these technologies as they are used to enhance functionality. Every effort has been made to make these technologies as accessible as possible.

Please note: The site has been made to degrade gracefully in older browsers and when additional technologies such as JavaScript are unavailable. However, in these circumstances, certain features may not function correctly.

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Accessibility help - Recite Me tool

‘Recite Me’ is an additional function on our website that will customise it to help those that may require extra help online.  Just click on the ‘ACCESSIBILITY HELP’ link on the bottom right of any page, to access lots of functions that will change the look and language to suit your needs. 

Here are the different tools available in 'Recite Me':

  • Click the play button to read the text aloud
  • Rewind to the previous paragraph of text
  • Skip forward to next paragraph of text
  • Decrease the text size
  • Change the font
  • Increase the text size
  • Change the background, text and link colours
  • Enable the Reading Ruler
  • Change the text dimensions
  • Dictionary
  • Translate the text into a different language
  • Remove images and view in plain text mode
  • Highlight the text and then click to download text as an MP3
  • Magnify what is on the screen

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Contacting us

We are always looking for ways to help people get the best experience from this website. If there is information you think that should be included on this page, or if you experience any problem accessing the website then please feel free to contact us

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Conformance date

This accessibility statement was issued on 11th December 2017.

This accessibility statement was last updated on 31st November 2018.

We plan to review our accessibility policies in 2019.

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Accessibility Help

Access the information you need in a way that suits you

Access Here

Priority Services

Our Priority Services are free and allow us to help our customers who might benefit most from additional support due to things like age, disability, mental health problems or language barriers

See if we can help