Watersource
Looking after the land, rivers and reservoirs to protect your drinking water for years to come.
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In this edition of our newsletter we’ll bring you up to date with the work our team has been undertaking as well as information on our community engagement activities.
The Story of WaterSource
Water goes on a pretty big journey even before it reaches our reservoirs.
From a cloud in the sky, each raindrop runs from the land and finds its way to streams, rivers and into our reservoirs.
Along the way, it might bump into things that affect its purity – grazing animals, trees being cut, chemicals that help food grow, or even hill walkers – all of which mean that the water that flows to our reservoirs isn’t as pure as it could be.
So we have to use an increasing amount of chemicals and energy to get it perfect for our customers to drink. This costs a lot of extra money and is damaging our environment.
That’s why we’re working with farmers, community groups and customers to change the way we look after this land. We call it WaterSource.
What is WaterSource?
WaterSource is a new way of looking after the land around our rivers, reservoirs and seas to protect our drinking water for years to come.
We’ve looked around the world for the best ideas, and we’re trying some new ideas of our own that will help improve the quality of water before it reaches our reservoirs.
Doing this will mean we can use fewer chemicals and energy to treat drinking water. This is good news for our customers and our beautiful environment.
Farmers, landowners and walkers can all help play their part.
Principles of WaterSource
Our catchment management approach
Prevention not cure
Our approach aims to ensure water quality is the best quality possible before it gets to the treatment works so fewer chemicals and less energy is needed during treatment.
Evidence based
Undertaking routine water sampling, investigations and research helps us understand the root cause of issues and identify fit for purpose solutions.
Right for our customers
Improving water quality while it is still in the environment means fewer resources are needed during treatment. This helps keep bills low and protect the wider environment.
Inclusive and collaborative
We want to work with the people, business and communities that live, work and visit our catchments to safeguard our water sources now and for future generations.
Delivers multiple benefits
Working together to safeguard water quality has many additional benefits - we’re helping with farm efficiency, biodiversity, forestry, tourism and safeguarding our natural resources for the future.