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The water treatment process

Water is essential to every aspect of our lives. We drink it, cook with it and use it to clean every day. Here you can learn more about the water cycle and our water treatment process.

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Where does your water come from?

We rely on water for everything we eat and drink, for washing ourselves and our clothes, and to create everything that we use in our day-to-day lives. It is essential to the health of the rivers, fields, forests and beaches that we love. 

It’s easy to take water for granted, but the process behind it is nothing short of amazing. Each step in the treatment process is crucial in making sure the water you drink is safe and clean.

We're transforming the way we source, treat and supply water by investing in water recycling, water transfers and nature-based solutions that protect and restore local water sources. 

The wastewater treatment process

Find out what happens to your water after you've used it and how it is treated before re-joining the water cycle.

Learn more

The water cycle

The water we use in our day-to-day lives follows a natural water cycle. 

An interactive infographic illustrating a water treatment works with buttons that share information about water sources
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Water collection

Firstly, we collect water from reservoirs, lakes, rivers and from underground where it’s found in layers of rocks we call aquifers. Around 70% of our region's drinking water comes from these aquifers.

Before treatment

At this stage, the water contains a variety of things you wouldn’t want to drink. This can include bacteria, viruses, pesticides and metals that we then remove in the treatment process.

During and after treatment

The water then goes through a thorough screening and cleaning process to remove unwanted particles, dirt and debris. Throughout the whole process, we constantly check the water using online monitors to ensure it’s safe to drink. The water is then pumped to storage reservoirs or fed through our 13,959 km of pipes to your taps. We treat over 563 million litres of water each day – that’s enough to make everyone in the UK 33 cups of tea!

Simple illustration of a water treatment plant

Wastewater Treatment

When the water has been used it makes it way into our sewers along with wastewater from other homes and businesses and rainwater. It is cleaned at of our Wastewater Treatment Works before being released into rivers or the sea.

Rainwater

Over time, water from the sea and waterways evaporates and falls as rain, filling up our water sources like aquifers and rivers. And so, the process of collecting, cleaning and providing water starts again.

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Water collection

Firstly, we collect water from reservoirs, lakes, rivers and from underground where it’s found in layers of rocks we call aquifers. Around 70% of our region's drinking water comes from these aquifers.

Before treatment

At this stage, the water contains a variety of things you wouldn’t want to drink. This can include bacteria, viruses, pesticides and metals that we then remove in the treatment process.

During and after treatment

The water then goes through a thorough screening and cleaning process to remove unwanted particles, dirt and debris. Throughout the whole process, we constantly check the water using online monitors to ensure it’s safe to drink. The water is then pumped to storage reservoirs or fed through our 13,959 km of pipes to your taps. We treat over 563 million litres of water each day – that’s enough to make everyone in the UK 33 cups of tea!

Simple illustration of a water treatment plant

Wastewater Treatment

When the water has been used it makes it way into our sewers along with wastewater from other homes and businesses and rainwater. It is cleaned at of our Wastewater Treatment Works before being released into rivers or the sea.

Rainwater

Over time, water from the sea and waterways evaporates and falls as rain, filling up our water sources like aquifers and rivers. And so, the process of collecting, cleaning and providing water starts again.

Our supply

We supply drinking water to over a million homes and businesses across the South East but did you know..

An illustrated outline of a water drop

532 million

We supply 2.5 million customers with over 532 million litres of wholesome water every day.

An illustrated outline of a hard hat

91

We have 91 water supply works treating water across our region

An illustrated outline of a water pipe

13,870km

Our water is delivered along 13,870 kilometres of water mains.

An illustrated outline of a house

1.1 million

We supply 1.1 million homes with wholesome water, 984,656 of which have a water meter.

water icon

188

7% of the water we supply is stored at 188 service reservoirs.

An illustrated outline of a river and trees

31,000 million

Bewl Water is our largest reservoir with the capacity to hold 31,000 million litres of water.

Our supply

We supply drinking water to over a million homes and businesses across the South East but did you know..

An illustrated outline of a water drop

532 million

We supply 2.5 million customers with over 532 million litres of wholesome water every day.

An illustrated outline of a hard hat

91

We have 91 water supply works treating water across our region

An illustrated outline of a water pipe

13,870km

Our water is delivered along 13,870 kilometres of water mains.

An illustrated outline of a house

1.1 million

We supply 1.1 million homes with wholesome water, 984,656 of which have a water meter.

water icon

188

7% of the water we supply is stored at 188 service reservoirs.

An illustrated outline of a river and trees

31,000 million

Bewl Water is our largest reservoir with the capacity to hold 31,000 million litres of water.

Our water treatment process

Water goes through a lot before it reaches your tap. Watch the video below to discover how we process it into clean, drinking water.

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Water collection

Around 68.2% of the water we supply comes from groundwater, which is water stored in layer of rock known as aquifers. 27.4% of our water is from rivers and 4.4% comes from reservoirs.
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Water screening

The water makes its way to one of our 70 water supply works where large metal screens are used to filter big debris such as leaves, sticks, and rubbish.
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Water clarification (clumping)

Now the real magic begins. The tiny particles that are too small to be filtered out through screening are removed using chemicals that make them stick together into large clumps so they're easier to remove.
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Sedimentation

The clumps then settle at the bottom of a sedimentation basin, leaving clearer water at the top.
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Filtration

The partially cleaned water is now filtered to remove any remaining impurities – think of it like straining pasta but on a microscopic level! A secondary filter also removes any metals and pesticides.
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Cleaning the removed particles

The particles that we have removed from the water go through their own cleaning and drying process. This leaves behind a solid cake and clean water that we can safely return to the environment.
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Disinfection

To make sure the water is safe to drink, we disinfect it with chlorine or ultraviolet, removing any remaining bacteria. We never add fluoride and use monitors throughout the process to make sure the water is fit for drinking.
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Storage

The now clean water is stored in tanks and reservoirs until it’s needed. These storage facilities make sure we always have a steady supply of water ready to be delivered to our customers' homes and businesses.
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Distribution

Finally, the water makes its way through our 13,973-kilometre network to reach your home, making its way into your taps.