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  • Rain
    Rain
    Evaporated water in the air condenses and form clouds in the sky. When it becomes too heavy, it falls as rain.
  • Rivers
    Rivers
    Evaporated water in the air condenses and form clouds in the sky. When it becomes too heavy, it falls as rain.
  • Evapouration
    Evaporation
    The sun heats water in the oceans, rivers and lakes and it turns to water vapour. The vapour is so light that it rises.
  • Chalk aquifer
    Chalk aquifer
    The rain that does not flow into rivers or into the sea seeps slowly through the soil and rocks into the aquifer deep underground in the rock.
  • Water pumping station
    Water pumping station
    Water is pumped out of the aquifer deep underground and it is treated ready to be sent to homes and businesses.
  • Water distribution pipes
    Water distribution pipes
    The pumping stations pump treated water into distribution pipes so that it reaches your taps in a clean and safe way.
  • Your house
    Your house
    Now you can use the water for cleaning, cooking, drinking - to name a few uses!

Environmental monitoring

Our Water Strategy Team undertakes routine environmental monitoring such as measuring groundwater levels and spot gauging river flows. This helps us understand the impacts of our abstractions on the local environment. In addition, we also record rainfall at strategic sites to help us understand how the weather affects our abstractions and water availability.

The monitoring that is carried out helps us to write our Water Resources Management Plan and Drought Management Plan, which allows us to plan for the future, including the best management of resources in the event of drought.

More about the plans in your area

River photos

As part of our routine environmental monitoring we take river photos at fixed locations every three months. This provides a valuable visual check of the rivers in our communities which is used to record both seasonal and annual changes. We have records going back more than 15 years.

Water availability

Normal flow

Water availability

High flow conditions

Water availability

Low flow conditions

 

Recording rainfall data

We collect rainfall data on a monthly basis at some of our sites. This data is used to help us to understand the amount of rainfall which ends up back in the rivers and recharges groundwater sources. Once the data is collected and analysed, it is sent to the MET Office for their records.

Other organisations and independent recorders in the UK also contribute their observations to the MET Office. This is then collated into reports based on geographical areas.

For the latest water situation report for your area please click here .

Measuring groundwater levels

We review groundwater levels weekly using our own data and data from the Environment Agency (EA). We also record groundwater levels using data loggers for specific projects.

Between 2012 and 2015 we investigated the impacts of our abstractions on a number of local rivers, including the Colne and Ver, as part of our obligations under the National Environment Programme (NEP).

As well as assessing the impacts of our abstractions, we also explored various options of reducing or mitigating these impacts including reducing the demand for water through our Water Saving Programme, importing water from neighbouring water companies and undertaking river enhancements to help improve the ecology.

For the latest water situation report for your area please click here.

Measuring river flows

The flow in any river is constantly changing as a result of a number of factors. To monitor these changes we use a number of different tools and techniques. This includes utilising data from the Environment Agency’s (EA) automated gauging station network. We also manually spot gauge a river with the use of a flow meter. This data is collected and analysed on a regular basis and helps us understand how much water is flowing through the rivers at a set location.

For the latest water situation report for your area please click here.

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