We rely on local rivers and chalk aquifers to produce more than 542 million litres of top-quality drinking water daily for our 2.3 million customers across the South East.
We consider ourselves the guardians of the environment and work hard to protect and enhance the areas we abstract water from for future generations.
The amount of water we take from the environment is based on our customers' demand for water and is licenced by the Environment Agency.
So next time you turn a tap on, flush the toilet or turn on the hosepipe, remember that water is coming from our environment.
To secure the future of water supplies, we need to be sure we’re not causing damage to the rivers and streams we rely on. That's why, through our Restoring Sustainable Abstraction scheme, we are making sure we strike a healthy balance between taking the water needed from rivers and streams for customers’ water supplies while leaving enough for the environment to thrive.
Where there are other issues such as pollution, too much or little vegetation growth or the river channel has been artificially modified, we work with local landowners and in partnership with South East Rivers Trust to improve the river habitat.
As part of the Water Industry National Environment Plan (WINEP), the Environment Agency and Natural England have asked us to improve the ecological health of these rivers and streams:
- Bisham Brook, Berkshire
- Candover Stream, Hampshire
- Maidenhead Ditch (River Thames), Berkshire
- Upper River Darent (and tributaries of), Kent
- River Hart and Itchel Brook, Hampshire
- River Rother, East Sussex
- River Stour, Kent
- Upper River Wey, Hampshire.
We work with environmental organisations, local councillors, local residents and land managers to get feedback on the potential river and habitat improvements. We also work with farmers and landowners all year round to protect water quality in rivers, reservoirs and groundwater (aquifers) through our award-winning Catchment Management programme.
We start by reviewing how the catchment works and where the drinking water is sourced. We will review our abstractions for any impact on the landscape as well as other potential pressures.
The data in this stage include rainfall, groundwater, river flow, water quality, abstraction, discharges and identifying other sensitive species.
From this review, we can start to identify some of the key issues, pressures and challenges within the catchment.
Below is an example of the initial assessments undertaken where the watercourse is identified for pressures which could include weirs or over-straightening.
Following review, we can identify gaps in the knowledge of the area of interest and have appropriate monitoring around sensitive species. We can then plan out and implement additional catchment data monitoring (groundwater level, water quality and surface water flow) and/or undertake controlled tests on our abstractions (pumping tests).
Below is an example of the assessment process that we undertake as part of the RSA schemes, taking into consideration all of the available information plus additional monitoring through our gap analysis.
As you can see here, catchment stakeholder and regulator engagement is undertaken throughout all of these processes to ensure that any work that we do is the most appropriate form of action to address any potential concerns whilst at the same time ensuring that there is a legacy of ownership over any adaptive management work undertaken by stakeholders.
Pumping Tests
From time to time, we carry out tests at our pumping stations, from which we take water from rivers or underground and transport it to water treatment plants. These tests help us understand how the water we use from local water sources is linked to the environment, and to understand how our operations may affect natural water levels or flows, and how this may, in turn, affect dependent habitats.
We aim to undertake our tests when water levels in the environment are expected to be at their lowest point, typically towards the end of the summer months, when signals in the data will become most apparent.
At the start of our tests, we aim to establish a stable and steady rate of abstraction for a period of time in order to establish a baseline of stable and controlled data at the start of the test. When we understand and control these variables, this helps us to identify signals recorded in the data, which are a result of planned changes made to the abstraction during the tests.
Our tests may include periods of stopping abstraction for a period and/or pumping at a low rate for a period and incrementally increasing the rates of abstraction in order to change the signal recorded in the monitoring data in the catchment. The type and duration of testing are planned individually for each abstraction in order to address the specific constraints and/or data requirements for each abstraction.
During the year, you may see our team out and about undertaking monitoring in the catchment, so please don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions or concerns; or contact us online or via phone.
In an emergency, you can call us 24/7 on 0333 000 0365(opens in a new tab).
Environmental Surveys
With support from environmental specialists such as Jacobs, we carry out a wide range of surveys to assess the health of the river systems and provide us with the data and science we need to make the best decisions around the future state of the river.
These typically look at insects, plants, elevation and habitats.
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