Water's worth saving in Suffolk

Growing families, that prize-winning garden, cleaning the car, brushing your teeth, exercising, thirst-quenching, the pandemic – we’re all using more and more water.

Over the last ten years, we’ve seen a big change in our weather. Longer, drier spells have caused drops in water resources across our region - especially in the area mapped out below:

What can we do about this?

We all need to change our habits to help protect our local environment and community. But to have a big impact, everybody needs to get involved.

That’s why we’re working with you and your community in this area, to save water and protect this precious resource for generations to come. The more that you help us save, the more funding we’ll make available to support your community.

Nominate for funding here

So, how does the community fund work?

The way the community fund works is pretty simple. We know how much water we supply to this area, and we can see when the demand for water changes.

We want to reduce the average demand for water in this area by at least 4% and if you and the local community can help us achieve that, we’ll donate £10,000 to community groups and charities across the region that meet our eligibility criteria.

If you can help us save more, and reduce average demand by 7%, we’ve got up to £20,000 to donate to community groups and charities in this area.

We want to make sure that the funding will support critical issues in our communities. The community groups and charities that will receive the funding will need to tackle at least one of the three following areas:

Ending water poverty – we want to end water poverty in our regions by 2030. We know that people in water poverty often face other difficulties too. We want to work in partnership with groups and charities that support people and tackle poverty such as food banks, financial advice and providing a helping hand.
Promoting water for health – we’re super proud of our tap water, and we’re willing to do just about anything to get you slurping more straight from the tap. It’s really important to drink plenty of water to stay healthy and hydrated. We want to work in partnership with groups and charities that help to educate people about the importance of staying hydrated, like sporting groups, nutritional groups and education initiatives.
Protect the water environment – we want to have the best rivers and beaches in the country, and we want to leave the natural environment in a better condition for the future. We want to work in partnership with groups and charities that focus on improving the environment, especially the water environment, and deliver enhancements for biodiversity.

You know your patch better than anyone else. That’s why we’re asking you to nominate charities and community groups that support the above three areas and would benefit from the funding available.

You can get involved by checking your toilet for leaks, using water wisely everyday and reporting leaks that you might see when out and about. Check out the sections below to find out more.