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How nature and people help deliver a great glass of Cumbrian tap water

Lake DistrictDid you know the Lake District's dramatic landscape is the perfect natural water collector?​

​From rugged mountain peaks and deep glacial valleys to winding rivers and some of the wettest weather in the country, everything here works together to help create a cool, refreshing glass of tap water.​

If you live in Cumbria, Greater Manchester or Lancashire, there's a good chance your water's journey starts right here at Haweswater. Created in 1935, this vast reservoir gathers water flowing down from the surrounding fells and holds an incredible 84.5 billion litres, enough to fill Wembley Stadium twice over.​

​In fact, around 85% of the water we supply comes from upland sources like reservoirs. Because they're located where rainfall naturally falls, the water is freshly collected and often needs less treatment. That's also what gives it its naturally soft qualities. ​​

But Haweswater isn't just impressive in size. It supplies drinking water to more than two million people. From here, water travels 110 kilometres through the Haweswater Aqueduct, powered almost entirely by gravity, delivering around a quarter of all the water used across North West England.​

We’ve had a really dry summer, with July being the third driest on record and the sunniest ever recorded. Combined with exceptionally high temperatures, this led to record levels of water use across the region. Going into autumn our reservoir levels remain lower than normal at this time of year.  To keep water supplies balanced across the region, we're moving water around our interconnected network. This means your tap water may occasionally come from a different source than usual, but you can be confident that it will continue to meet all our strict water quality standards.

We have some fantastic colleagues working in the wilds of Cumbria helping to make this all happen. Dave has worked for United Utilities for more than 17 years and he’s lucky enough to spend most of his working day in the Lake District. We caught up with Dave to learn more about how he helps to deliver your fresh glass of tap water.

  • We have a very varied job. We operate and monitor all the equipment involved with collecting water in our reservoirs before it goes for further treatment. We also monitor catchment land - these natural landscapes act as a giant filtration system, improving water quality long before it reaches our treatment works.

    Another part of our role is interacting with members of the public. The Lake District is an incredible place to visit and we want people to come and enjoy our estates and see how beautiful they are.

    However, what we’re seeing is a small section of visitors who aren’t respecting the environment and are causing damage to the environment which will take decades to repair. It’s important for us to have conversations with visitors and help reduce any anti-social behaviour that occurs on our land.  

  •  I must say the best part of my job is being out and about. I’m not the kind of person that enjoys being indoors (too much). The variety also really keeps me interested and engaged at work.  I enjoy the challenges of the role and the variety of the work we do.

  • Keeping the catchment and our assets in the best shape possible is really at the heart of everything we do. This allows us to ensure that we are providing our colleagues in the treatment works great quality water before it reaches our customers’ taps.