More than 1.3 million litres of water was saved every day by our customers between July and December 2024, equating to 250 million litres of water overall. 

Last summer, we launched Yes We Cam, a water-saving initiative where we asked residents across Cambridgeshire to join us in a community-wide effort to save water, adopt more sustainable water usage practices and work with us to protect our precious and unique local chalk streams.

More than 1,500 people signed up and pledged to make a small change to one of their everyday water habits, and thousands more were aware of our campaign.

As a result, 1.36 million litres of water was saved every day between July and December when we activated our campaign, equalling 250.2 million litres overall – the same as 3.2 million bath tubs.

On top of this, more than 840,500 kg of CO2 was saved from not treating, pumping or heating this water, the equivalent of boiling the kettle 34 million times! 

Why is it important we save water?

Our water is sourced from boreholes sunk into the chalk aquifer. This is the same source that feeds our region’s chalk streams – a beautiful part of our natural landscape.

An average of 86 million litres of water a day is abstracted from water resources, and up to 107 million litres on a really hot day.

In 2021, the Environment Agency classified Greater Cambridge, part of our region, as water-stressed.

Our county is one of the fastest-growing regions, with industries such as biotechnology and research and development booming, and housing development increasing.

Our region is also one of the driest. As reported by the Environment Agency last week, across the UK, we have experienced our driest start to spring in 69 years.

With less rain, hotter weather, a growing population and rising modern water usage, our local groundwater sources are under pressure like never before.

What can I do to save water? 

There are many ways you can save water, and doing so could also save you money if you’re on a water meter.

• Shower for two minutes less than normal – saves 30 litres
• Run the washing machine on eco mode – saves 30 litres
• Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth – saves 28 litres
• Wash up in a bowl, not under a running tap – saves 52 litres
• Use a watering can rather than a hose in the garden – saves 145 litres
• Use one button on a dual-flush toilet – saves 15 litres

Learn more about how you can save water at home

What is Cambridge Water doing? 

Securing our future water supplies, whilst protecting the environment, is a key focus for us.

As part of our Water Resources Management Plan, we will be focusing on how we can manage water demand and exploring new supply options.

We aim to:

• implement a 50% reduction in leakage from 2017-18 levels by 2040 – tripling the rate of reduction by 2030
• support a 9% reduction in forecasted non-household water use by 2038
• help customers to reduce household water use to 110 litres per person per day by 2050 – down by just under 30 litres
• develop alternative supply options – working with Anglian Water on water transfer from Grafham Reservoir, and building a new reservoir in the Cambridgeshire Fens

We will also invest more than £11 million to deliver our environmental obligations across Cambridge. This includes implementing river enhancement and restoration projects for seven chalk streams in our Cambridge region to help improve their ecological status. These include the River Granta, Mill River, the River Mel, Vicars Brook and Cherry Hinton Brook.