Taking place between 15 and 19 May, Water Saving Week is an annual event created by Waterwise to raise awareness of the issues around water use.
When we think about saving water, we usually link the benefits with saving money or ensuring enough water for everyone. Still, another important reason to save water is to protect the environment.
The South East of England is one of the driest parts of England and an area of severe water stress. We rely on autumn and winter rain to refill our reservoirs and restore river flows.
The amount of water we take from the local rivers and streams depends on water demand. Therefore, if there has been a significant period of no rainfall, and we continue to take more water than is being replaced, this could be harmful to the environment.
As well as making sure there is enough water for all, it is also essential to look after the river systems and wildlife within them.
For us, it's so much more than just continuing to supply fresh drinking water - we want to protect the environment and enhance it for future generations.
Our Environment Team have been working with farmers to protect the rivers and streams in our supply area. They work on schemes to help farmers or landowners with rainwater harvesting or planting rows of grass between maize to prevent soil loss.
If the fields are left empty once the maize has been harvested, the sediment, nutrients and fertilizer in the soil end up in the groundwater and rivers.
Removing these substances at the water treatment works is expensive, so prevention is best.
Farmers and landowners benefit by losing less of these substances to waste - saving time and money.
The final way to protect our rivers, streams and reservoirs is to use less water.
We aim to reduce the amount of water lost in leaks across our network and our customers' homes by 15% by 2025.
We're also out and about fixing leaks on our network of 9000 miles of pipes to stop water from being lost to leaks.
For more information on how we plan to keep taps flowing into the future while protecting our environment, visit here.
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