The average person in Cambridge uses 119 litres of water every day. 

From having a shower and washing clothes, to cleaning the dishes and flushing the loo - all of our actions add up. 

Sometimes, we use more than this, particularly in the summer - taking longer showers, doing extra washing and watering the garden. 

When we all do this during particularly hot and dry periods, extra strain is put onto our water resources and means more is taken from our environment and our precious chalk streams. 

What are chalk streams?

Chalk streams are a rare type of river that is fed by groundwater. They are home to a variety of specialised plants and animals, including water voles, otters and kingfishers.

They are habitats as unique as the Amazonian rainforest or Great Barrier Reef and there are only around 200 chalk streams in the world - over a quarter are right here in East Anglia. 

Your drinking water - essentially all of the water you use at home, from your taps to toilets - is supplied by local aquifers. These are the same groundwater sources that supply our chalk streams and rivers.

The more we all use, the greater the pressure on our aquifers and chalk streams. If we don’t take collective action, these beautiful English landscapes could be damaged and even lost forever.

Together, we can save our chalk streams for generations to come. 

'Yes We Cam' is a powerfully simple initiative. It’s all about making one small change to your everyday water habits to save our local chalk streams and rivers.

By choosing just one easy water-saving pledge, you’ll be a crucial part of our county’s biggest ever water-saving action, protecting and restoring Cambridgeshire’s precious chalk stream habitats for generations to come.

Make a pledge

Make one easy water-saving pledge and stick to it over a few months. It’s about each of us doing one new thing, as often as possible, until it becomes a new habit. 

• Shower for two minutes less than normal - this saves 30 litres a shower
• Run the washing machine full in eco mode - this saves 30 litres a load
• Turn off the tap whilst you brush your teeth - this saves 28 litres a day
• Wash up in a bowl, rather than under a running tap - this saves 52 litres a day
• Ditch the hose for a watering can - this saves 145 litres a day
• Use one button to flush the toilet - this saves 15 litres a day

We’re doing our bit too

While you are doing your bit, here at Cambridge Water, we’re doing ours – investing in our water infrastructure and our water resources, and finding and fixing leaks as quickly as possible.

We are:

• implementing a 50% reduction in leakage from 2017-18 levels by 2040 – tripling the rate of reduction by 2030
• supporting a 9% reduction in forecasted non-household water use by 2038
• helping customers to reduce household water use to 110 litres per person per day by 2050
• developing alternative supply options – working with Anglian Water on water transfer from Grafham Reservoir, and building a new reservoir in the Cambridgeshire Fens

Have you ever wondered?