Further independent information on drinking water quality in the Anglian Water region can be obtained in 'Drinking Water 2008', a report by the Chief Inspector of the Drinking Water Inspectorate.
Water supplies in the region are taken from three sources; direct from rivers, reservoirs and from groundwater.
Direct from rivers - direct abstraction from rivers accounts for only five per cent of the water supplied. Most water treatment works which abstract directly from rivers have a small amount of buffer storage before treatment and all are able to use alternative supplies.
Reservoirs - nearly half the water supplied comes from large storage reservoirs. The prime purpose of these reservoirs is to provide a water resource for public water supply by storing surplus flows in the autumn and winter months. In this way we maintain secure water supplies throughout the year. Many of these reservoirs, for example Rutland Water and Grafham Water, are best known for their amenity and nature conservation use, and we strive to maintain and enhance these facilities to benefit the environment and our customers.
Groundwater - the remainder of our water supplies are abstracted from seven major underground sources (aquifers) via more than 450 boreholes.
The major aquifer is chalk. Groundwater is typically of excellent quality and is characterised by the hydrogeology and mineralogy of the aquifer.