Where does our water come from?
The availability of water across England and Wales varies considerably and depends on environmental factors such as rainfall, topography (physical features of the land) and geology.
As a responsible company we want to lead the way by tackling leakage, promoting metering and working with customers to be water efficient in homes and gardens.
The Lake District is the wettest part of England, with average annual totals exceeding 2000 mm, while parts of the South East receive less than 700mm. Typically it rains on about one day in three in England, perhaps more often in winter. The rain is formed as part of the natural water cycle, which sees clouds in the sky being formed by evaporation of water from the land, seas, rivers and lakes. The water in the clouds then falls as rain finding its way back into the ground, our rivers and seas.
Some of the rainfall finds its way to the reservoirs from which South East Water takes some of its supplies - Bewl Water, in Kent, and Barcombe, Arlington and Ardingly, in Sussex. Water is sometimes pumped into the reservoirs during wetter months from rivers, such as the River Medway at Bewl Water and the River Cuckmere at Arlington to top them up.
However, more than three-quarters of the region’s drinking water comes from aquifers which are filled by rain which runs through porous ground such as chalk and limestone. These natural underground water-bearing rocks act like a sponge to absorb rainwater which has percolated its way down through the soil over many weeks and months.
This water is then stored and gradually flows through the voids, or pore spaces, in the rock, towards springs, rivers or the sea. Water companies drive shafts, called wells or boreholes, down into these aquifers and pump water up to the surface where it can be treated to make it safe to drink.