Types of water resources
When rain falls it’s our job to capture, store, transport and treat this precious resource. Our water resources are strictly managed to make sure we always have enough supply to match demand.
Rivers
88% of our water supply comes from surface water sources, via river intakes on the Hampshire Avon and the Dorset Stour. The two main rivers, the River Avon and River Stour, have high ‘base flows’ which allow us to abstract from these sources throughout the year.
Boreholes
12% of our water supply comes from groundwater sources, via boreholes which mainly supply the more rural parts of the water resource zone. We pump water from boreholes to help support river flows and this allows us to continue to abstract water for public supply in the area.
Ensuring we meet water demands in the Bournemouth Water resource zone is our prime responsibility
As the Bournemouth Water area is traditionally drier than the UK average, with warmer, sunnier summers, making sure all our customers have enough water depends on investment in capturing, storing and transporting this precious resource.
River intakes, boreholes, connecting pipelines and massive pumps are just some of the essential infrastructure we need to be able to provide sufficient water for all our customers.
Our drought plan
Water is a precious resource and we don’t like wasting water. We have a drought plan that sets out how we will manage our water resources in response to potential drought events.
Nature-based solutions
Some of the farming techniques, as good as they are for crops and animals, play havoc with the sensitive ecosystems of our rivers and lakes. Our Upstream Thinking team works with farmers to change this.
Tackling leakage
With drones, listening sticks, satellites and more, we're out detecting and repairing leaks every day.
Using less water
In our Water Resources Plan, we promised to reduce our own use of water by over 2 million litres per day. By recycling water and upgrading our facilities, we’ve smashed that target.
