The story behind our water

Water is an essential part of our daily routines, whether we use it to cook, clean, or stay hydrated on a warm day.

Have you ever wondered where your water comes from before it flows through your tap? Every drop of your water makes its journey through the water cycle. Flowing through our streams, rivers and reservoirs or filtering through the ground into deep aquifers. But managing and monitoring our water resources is one of the biggest challenges we face. ​

We use a variety of sources to ensure that we can provide a safe and reliable water supply to our customers all year round, even during the warmer months. That’s why half of our region's water comes from a combination of rivers and reservoirs, while the other half comes from underground sources, which we access with boreholes. 

But no matter where our water comes from, there are more of us living in our region today than ever before. That’s why it’s ever-more important that we all save water where we can.

We’re working hard to take care of water too, by leading the way on finding and fixing leaks, and upgrading our network across the region with smart technology.​

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To help us plan ahead, we produce a Water Resources Management Plan every five years. It describes how we’ll cope with the challenges of the next 25 years, keeping the balance between the water we need, and what we’ve actually got.​

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We also have a Drought Plan, which shows what we’d do if there was a water shortage due to drought.​

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It’s all part of how we look to the future – a future with more people, a changing climate and less rain. Continually challenging us to innovate and explore better ways of supplying - and protecting - your water.