2. Watertalk / 3
www.bristolwater.co.uk
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Forest Live
Westonbirt Arboretum
Thu 13 – Sat 16 Jun
Bristol Harbour
Festival
Harbourside
Fri 19 – Sun 21 Jul
Bristol Pride
The Downs, Sat 13 Jul
Bristol International
Balloon Fiesta
Ashton Court Estate
Thu 8 – Sun 11 Aug
Upfest
Southville, Dates
Keynsham Music
Festival
Keynsham, Sat 30 Jun
German Bierfest
Millennium Square
Dates
Bristol Festival of
Nature
Harbourside
Sat 8 – Sun 9 Jun
Squidge & Snap
turn celery
kaleidoscopic
Turn to page 15
to find out how...
Bring a bottle Bristol Water Bar
The ingenious
innovators at
the heart of
our history
Page 10
It’s a birdwatching bonanza!
Turn to page 8 for our guide
It dried up and died,
but we brought it back
to life… hooray!
Page 5
Watertalk / 3
www.bristolwater.co.uk
Inside...
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It dried up and
died, but we
brought it back
to life… hooray!
Page 5
Baby eels (known as
elvers) reach our waters
each spring.
They have swum
6,000km to get here…
… and are 2 years old
when they arrive.
26,000 eel barriers
across the UK help them
migrate upstream to find
a place to live.
They can live in our
streams, ditches and
ponds for up to
40 years.
There has been a 95%
decline in the European
eel population in the last
20 years…
… so 1,000 local
schoolchildren are
helping to protect this
endangered species…
… by releasing 5,000 (and
counting) eels into the wild.
Turntopage4formore
Squidge & Snap
turn celery
kaleidoscopic
Turn to page 15
to find out how...
Spawn to be Wild
Facts and figures
The ingenious
innovators at
the heart of
our history
Page 10
It’s a birdwatching bonanza!
Turn to page 8 for our guide
@bristolwater
bristolwater.co.uk/refillrevolution
The Promenade
Queen Square
College Green
Millennium Square
Broadmead
Christmas Steps
Single-use plastics are for suckers!
Help us prevent 50 miles worth of plastic bottle
waste by using our water fountains instead
Join our refill revolution!
Queens Road
We are installing our new water
fountains this summer starting with
College Green on 19 June. Keep your
eyes peeled and your bottles ready
for the rest to appear very soon!
Our award-winning water bar
will be hitting the road again this
summer, keeping festival fans
happily hydrated with unlimited
refills of cool, clean drinking water…
3. 4 / Watertalk Watertalk / 5
@bristolwater
News
www.bristolwater.co.uk
O
urYouthBoardisbackfor
asecondyearofbluesky
thinking.Consistingof20
A-levelandcollegestudentsfromthe
BristolWaterarea,theYouthBoard
givesbrightsparksthechancetohelp
shapeandplanourfutureoperations,
sharetheirideasatanexecutivelevel
andpotentiallykick-startacareerin
thebusinessworld.
BusinessstudiesstudentBonnie
fromKingsofWessexAcademy
enjoyedthechancetogetunderthe
skinofBristolWater.“Iwasabletolearn
aboutlotsofdifferentpositionswithin
BristolWaterbutalso[discovered]
thatpeoplearesounawareofthings
companiesdo,”shesays.
HaurafromBadmintonSchool
particularlyenjoyedworkingwitha
rangeofdifferentpeopleandfiguring
outhowtocommunicateideasin
wayseveryonecouldunderstand.
“Evenifyou’renotinterested
inbusiness,itopensuplotsof
opportunities,”shesays.
Weusethesessionstolearnfrom
ourcustomersofthefuture,listening
totheirideasandformulatingwayswe
canimproveourservice.
EarlierthisyearBristolWaterCEO
MelKaramjoinedcolleaguesfrom
acrossthebusinesstotakepartina
specialactivitydayatBedminster
DownSchool.Theaimoftheday
wastoengagepupilswithSTEM
(science,technology,engineering
andmathematics)andtheworkplace
throughhands-onactivities.
Representativesfromourdifferent
departmentshostedacareers
carouselgivingyearninestudents
theopportunitytoexploreandlearn
moreaboutthevariouscareeroptions
availableatBristolWater.
Ask the youth
Our Youth Board and school activity days give us a chance
to connect with and learn from our customers of the future
River phoenix
“L
ost river returns more
than 60 years after it dried
up and died” screamed
The Independent in April,
thrusting our scheme to restore a
lost section of the River Chew on to
the national stage.
The river is now half a kilometre
longer for the first time in more
than half a century and, points
out The Guardian, offers “new
habitat for several species of rare
and threatened wildlife”. In fact,
it’s thought the restored river,
which wends its way through a
1950s poplar and alder plantation,
will help endangered species like
the European eel (which is more
endangered than the giant panda)
and encourage populations of
water vole, white clawed crayfish,
salmon, trout, chub, carp, pike and
stickleback.
As part of the scheme, local
people are being trained in ecology
so that they can make sure the new
wildlife settles into its home.
“The river will offer a
considerable environmental
benefit,” says Matthew Pitts,
Catchment Strategy Manager for
Bristol Water. “We’ve devised a
new, more natural flow regime
to benefit the river ecology
and instantly created half a
kilometre of river. We should see
a healthier river and healthier fish
populations.”
More than half a
century after it had
dried up, our scheme
has successfully
restored a lost section
of the River Chew and
will provide a new
home for endangered
species
Did you know..?
If you lose supply and we don’t restore it within 12 hours, we’ll now
pay you £30 for a household and £75 for a business. Good to know!
What’s more
endangered than
the red panda
and blue whale?
W
e’ll give you a clue: you’ll find this species swimming
around our streams, ditches and ponds. The answer is the
European eel and their numbers have declined by about
90% since the 1970s. To help, we are working with Avon Wildlife
Trust on Spawn to be Wild, an award-winning project which sees
more than 1,000 local schoolchildren across the area raising elvers
(baby eels) before releasing them into Blagdon Lake. So far 5,000 eels
have been released and we hope many more will follow.
Spawn to be Wild
Facts and figures
Baby eels (known as
elvers) reach our waters
each spring.
They have swum
6,000km to get here…
… and are 2 years old
when they arrive.
26,000 eel barriers
across the UK help them
migrate upstream to find
a place to live.
They can live in our
streams, ditches and
ponds for up to 40 years.
There has been a 95%
decline in the European
eel population in the last
20 years…
… so 1,000 local
schoolchildren are
helping to protect this
endangered species…
… by releasing 5,000
(and counting) eels into
the wild.
4. @bristolwater
6 / Watertalk
Can we help you?
Our support ranges from debt
advice to a discount on bills,
flexible payment plans and a
priority service which provides
extra help for those with
additional needs.
Whether you’re experiencing
money worries, struggling to
stay on top of your bill or having
trouble accessing our services,
we provide flexible support for
those who need it.
To find out more about how we may be able to help you,
please contact our customer services team on 0345 600 3600
or visit www. bristolwater.co.uk/helptopay
Undergoing
home dialysis
Low-income
households
Disabled or have
additional needs
In receipt of
pension credit
Short-term
financial difficulty
In receipt of
benefits
Short-term
need
Missing
payments
Watertalk / 7
I
n 2012 a group of local residents
in Lawrence Weston were
pushed to breaking point. The
post-warhousingestateonthe
outskirtsofBristolhadseenadecline
inlocalservices,culminatingina
decisiontoclosethelocalcollege.The
buildingitselfheldhugeemotional
tiesforresidents(manywentto
schoolthere)soitsimminentclosure
gavethethemthemotivationtocome
togethertotryandimprovetheirlot.
“Ambition Lawrence Weston was
launched to change the balance
of power back into the residents’
favour,” explains Mark Pepper,
the organisation’s Development
Manager. “We wanted to make sure
the area was improved to meet the
residents’ requirements and not just
to benefit outside stakeholders and
decision makers.”
Working together
ALWhaveachievedahugeamount,
facilitatingtheopeningofaflagship
Lidlsupermarket,savingtheyouth
andcommunitycentrefromclosure,
installingtwoplayparks,refurbishing
theBMXraceclubandtrackand
gettingthego-aheadfortheir£4.5m
communityhub(picturedbelow).
Allofwhichmakesgoodontheir
promisetoimprovethehealthand
wellbeingoutcomesoftheirresidents.
“Wearehugelyproudofthefact
thatresidentsareworkingtogether
andinpartnershipwithstakeholders
toimproveandregenerateourlocal
area,”Marksays.“Theresidents’
aspirationshaveskyrocketed.We
haveplansafootforacommunity-
owned36-unitaffordablehousing
scheme,community-ownedwind
turbineandmoreleisurefacilities.”
Huge rewards
The £500 Together for Good cash
prize has been earmarked to deliver
ALW’s In Your Neighbourhood
project, which will see them tidying
gardens and planting flowers for
South West in Bloom.
“Thefundingwereceivedisvital
inhelpingustoimprovetheoverall
lookandfeelofLawrenceWeston,
whichwillfurtherencourage
residentstotakeprideintheirarea,”
saysMark.“Oureffortsresultinhuge
rewardsfortheneighbourhood,
makingitanevenbetterplacetolive
todayandinthefuture.”
www.bristolwater.co.uk
Everymonthalocalprojectorcharitywithinour
supplyareawins£500cash.Nohiddenfees,noties,
nodrama.It’spartofourTogetherforGoodscheme
andwespeaktoformerwinners, AmbitionLawrence
Weston,tofindouthowthemoneyhashelped
HowtoapplyTo be in with a chance of winning £500 for your local charity
of community group, post on our Facebook Group More to Water and you
will be entered into the draw directly. Alternatively, visit www.bristolwater.
co.uk/together-for-good-form and fill out the form. The winner is drawn live on
Facebook on the first working day of each month. Good luck!
Hall of fame
ALW’s achievements so far
New Lidl
supermarket:
opened
Youth and
community
centre: saved
BMX race track:
installed
Two new play
parks: built
Neighbourhood
development
plan: delivered
£4.5m community
hub: approved
To find out more
about Ambition
Lawrence Weston,
visit www.ambitionlw.org
goodGoodfor
TogetherTogether
5. www.bristolwater.co.uk
Mute swans
During the Middle Ages, these
valuable birds were traded
between noblemen. The
owners would create unique
patterns in the beaks to show
the birds belonged to them.
Greatcrestedgrebe
They have an elaborate
courtship display which
sees the two birds dive to
collect weed and, as they
meet, rise vertically.
Mallard
After the breeding season,
the males replace their
bright body feathers with
duller brown ones like the
females.
8 / Watertalk
@bristolwater
Tufted duck
Diving deep
underwater to find
large plants and
animals, tufted ducks
bring their food to
the surface to crush
and eat it.
Canada goose
They fly in a distinct
“V” pattern, which allows
the flock to coordinate
their movements, such as
a change in flight speed or
direction.
Black-headed gull
Despite the name, this gull’s
head is chocolate brown
and is only dark during the
breeding season, turning
white with a dark smudge
in the winter months!
Coot
The saying ‘bald as a coot’
refers to the white patch
just above the bird’s bill.
Its feet have lobed flaps
which act like webbed feet
when swimming.
HIDE AND SEEK
Members of the public can access a bird hide from the Bittern nature trail,
which starts from Picnic Area two (between Bishop Sutton and Chew
Stoke). Permit holders can access a further five hides around Chew Valley
Lake, alongside two hides at Blagdon Lake, and gain access to three tanks
at Barrow Gurney. Permits can be bought from Woodford Lodge and you
need to be a member of a naturalist society to purchase one.
Shelduck
These sociable birds live in large
flocks leaving their chicks in creches
with one or two adults. If in danger,
the young dive underwater
while the adults fly away
to distract predators.
All scream for ice cream!
Salt & Malt is opening a new
ice cream parlour at Chew
Valley Lake this summer.
More details can be found
at saltmalt.com
Grey heron
Often seen standing still
on one leg in shallow
waters, patiently waiting
for fish to swim close
enough for them to
snatch up and eat.
Watch
the birdie!
From geese and gulls to great crested grebes, more than 260
different bird species have visited Chew Valley Lake, keeping
twitchers of all ages on their toes. To help you on your way to
birdwatching brilliance, we’ve created this pull-out-and-keep guide.
So grab your binoculars and get spotting…
To discover what else you can do at the lake, please visit bristolwater.co.uk/chewvalleylake
6. www.bristolwater.co.uk@bristolwater
Watertalk / 1110 / Watertalk
Well, since you ask, they gave us sanitation, education, a fresh
water system, railways, steamships, roads, public health and
a transatlantic trade – not to mention a groundbreaking new
system that would act as the beating heart of Bristol and a
symbol of the city’s ingenuity and innovation
WHAT
HAVE THE
VICTORIANS
EVER DONE
FORUS?
If you imagine life in the Victorian
era, you might think chimney
sweeps, suffocating smog or
Queen Vic herself dressed up
in all her finery. But while the
Artful Dodger was pickpocketing
London’s upper-class and Alice
went falling down that rabbit
hole, a bunch of civic-minded big
thinkers were sitting in a pub in
Bristol tearing up the rule book.
On an afternoon in October
1846, a bunch of revolutionary
chaps gathered in the White Lion
pub on Broad Street to discuss a
groundbreaking new system that
would act as the beating heart of
Bristol and a symbol of the city’s
ingenuity and innovation. Looking
out of the window there was no
Clifton Suspension Bridge in sight,
no Central Library or Cabot Tower.
Sitting in that room on Broad
Street were some of the sharpest
pioneering minds of the Victorian
era – this was the first ever Bristol
Waterworks meeting.
Budd the revolutionary
Now, you might not know too
much about our history, and we’re
all guilty of taking for granted the
water you can instantly draw from
your taps, but things were a little
different back then.
The idea of being able to drink
fresh, clean water was, for most,
unimaginable. It was widely
accepted that beer was safer to
drink than water – just imagine
having to draw drinking water
from the same river into which you
would empty your toilet. Because
of situations like this, the country
was facing a cholera epidemic.
In steps one of our founders,
William Budd, who recognised the
way to see an end to the cholera
epidemic was to tackle Bristol’s
water source. In the days of no
computers, machinery or even
metal pipes, make no mistake
that the idea was nothing short of
revolutionary. Rivalled by Isambard
Kingdom Brunel’s team, who also
wanted to supply fresh water
to residents but only to those in
Clifton, Bristol Water won the right
to supply fresh water to everyone
in a passionate and well-fought
Parliamentary battle.
7. WHITE
LION
INN
Feature continued
12 / Watertalk
Magnificent pipes
So began the hard work of supplying
140,000 people with fresh drinking
water from Barrow, Harptree Combe
and Chewton Mendip – 14 miles
away from the city itself. In a feat
of engineering, the newly formed
Bristol Waterworks worked tirelessly
to create pipes from hollowed out
elm trees that carried water for three
miles to Harptree Combe through
Winford and on to a little-known
reservoir in Barrow. Some described
these pipes – which were 30
inches in diameter – as “the most
magnificent work of its kind in
England”. It might not seem that
impressive to us now but the
idea that you could transport
water through valleys, hills
and tunnels back then was
inconceivable.
Community at heart
Thankfully other water companies
across the country soon sprang
up and the cholera epidemic was
slowed dramatically. In fact, thanks
to William Budd and his big thinking,
the cases dropped from 2,000 to just
29 in Bristol alone.
Since then, we’ve grown ever so
slightly but our aims remain the
same as those of our forefathers
sharing a drink at the White Lion
all those years ago: to place our
communities at the heart of
everything we do. With around 90%
of our staff Bristol Water customers
themselves, we can proudly call
ourselves a local company through
and through.
@bristolwater
PIPE DREAM
… and reduced cholera
cases from 2,000
to just 29!
How did Victorian engineers
transport fresh water to
140,000 Bristolians...
... when the water
sources were more than
14km from the city?
Bristol Waterworks hollowed
out elm trees, 30 inches in
diameter, to carry the water…
Win £500!
To be in with a
chance of winning
£500, all you need
to do is tell us the
year Bristol Water
was founded (clue:
the answer is in
the feature).
To enter, please visit
www.bristolwater.co.uk/
whatyear
“It was widely
accepted that
beer was safer to
drink than water”
Watertalk / 13
www.bristolwater.co.uk
“Theservicewassecondtonone”
Mrs Bean lives in a three-bedroom house and felt
sure that having a meter would be a benefit, but
was concerned that the engineer may have to dig up or
disturb her beloved garden.
“WhenSpencercametovisit,wehadanicechat,he
listenedtomyconcernsandlookedtofindthebest
solutionforme,”saysMrsBean.“Hewasabletofitthemeter
thereandthen,anddidn’tevenneedaccesstomygarden
orproperty.Aspromised,thegardenwasleftuntouched.”
Sincethen,MrsBeanhasseenareductioninherwater
bills,helpedgreatlybyheruseofawaterbutt,
whichshepurchasedthroughBristolwater.“I’ve
livedinmyhouseforyearsandI’monafixed
income,soifIcanreduceanybillswithouttoo
mucheffort,it’sdefinitelyworthdoing.”
Theyputyouincontrolofyourwateruse,showyou
howmuchwateryou’reactuallyusingandcanresult
inlowerbills.WespeaktotwoBristolWatercustomers
whoareheadoverheelsfortheirmeter…
“We saved £150 right away””
TheWheatleysfeltsuretheywere
payingtoomuchfortheirwaterbill
anddecidedtotaketheplungeandapply
tohaveameterfitted.“Wethoughtwecould
probablysaveabitofmoney,”saysMrsWheatley.“Infact,
wesaved£150rightaway.Theapplicationprocesswas
prettysimpleandswitchingtoameterwasnohassle.””
The family of four have become extremely water
conscious since getting a meter installed and saving
water has now become part of their daily routine. “It really
made us think about the value of our water supply,” says
Mrs Wheatley. “Our little girl is a real water saver: she uses
a two-minute toothy timer when brushing her teeth and
only turns the tap on when she needs to rinse. We’re
happy to do our bit for the environment.”
W
e hate it,
customers
hate it. And
as almost 90% of our
employees are customers
too, we doubly hate it.
Managing leakage is a complicated
and challenging business that
keeps us up at night. Many of our
customers are rising to the challenge
to help us by reporting leaks and
getting a meter installed.
Here’s what we’re doing:
1.We have doubled the amount of
people we have looking for leaks.
2.We are managing pressure
to reduce small leaks, which
accounts for 50% of our leakage.
3.We are installing thousands of new
loggers to help us find and fix leaks.
Here’s what you can do…
Install a meter!
A quarter of leakage occurs in
people’s homes and the most
efficient way to find out if you have
a leak is through your water meter,
so we are encouraging all our
customers to embrace water meters!
if you have a leak, your water bill
will be much higher than usual.
To find out more, please visit
www.bristolwater.co.uk/meters
meter!witha
Sweeter
WARON
LEAKS
8. www.bristolwater.co.uk
Science fun with…
Squidge
&Snap
How did it work?
Whathappenedtothestalksand
leaves?Didtheychangecolour?Ifthe
experimentwentwell,you’llnoticethat
theendsofthestalksandleaveshave
transformedintobeautifulcolours.This
isallthankstoaprocesscalledcapillary
action.Thethirstycelerydrawswaterup
fromtherootstoitsleavesthroughtiny
tubescalledthexylem.Ifyouripopen
thestalks,you’llseethesecolourfultubes
travellingallthewayuptotheleaves.
You can repeat this experiment using
stalks with and without leaves – which
one wins the capillary race?
2. Fill each glass or
jar about halfway
with water.
1. Cut about an inch
from the bottom of
each celery stalk.
3. Pop drops of
different food
colouring into
each glass.
4. Pop a stalk of
celery into each
glass and leave
overnight.
Watertalk / 15
Make a celery rainbow!
Squidge & Snap transform the humble
stick of celery into a kaleidoscopic
delight in this simple science experiment
You’ll need:
• Three leafy celery stalks
• Three large glasses or jars
• Three different food colourings
Method:
5. Revisit your
celery stalks in the
morning and take a
look at the leaves.
@bristolwater
14 / Watertalk
Bristol Water Bar
O
ur free pop-up water bar made its way to 13 local
events last summer, providing party-goers at
festivals like Valley Fest and Forest Live with an
environmentally friendly way to hydrate on the go. And
you did us proud! By opting to refill your reusable bottles
rather than buy a new one, you stopped 30,000 plastic
bottles from making their way into landfill. That’s a pretty
cool start when you consider that by 2050 experts think
there will be more plastic than fish in the sea.
The Bristol Water Bar has picked up three awards
so far: the Big Bang Award for Innovation at the Utility
Week Stars Awards, the Community Project of the
Year and the Outstanding Innovation Award. But
more importantly, the Water Bar gives us a fantastic
opportunity to chat with you, our customers.
We will be back again for summer 2019 at a local
event near you, so remember to bring your reusable
water bottle and get refilling.
Water fountains
I
t’s been a year since we first announced The
Jennings Programme, our campaign to bring the
humble water fountain back into fashion. It is
named after our former Head of Communications,
passionate environmental campaigner Ali Jennings,
who saw that free drinking water fountains could be
key in helping the public bin their bottle-buying habits
– and we agreed, laying plans to install several around
the city. Now, thanks to our partnership with Bristol City
Council, we are launching eight new outdoor drinking
water fountains across Bristol this summer.
Award-winningcampaignersRefillestimatesthatone
millionplasticbottlesareboughtaroundtheworldevery
minute…andthatfigureispredictedtorisebyanother
20%by2021.Bydeployingourarmyofwaterfountains,
wewillprovideaneasywayforyoutorefill
yourbottleonthego,whichwillnot
onlyhelptheenvironment
butalsoyourcashflowflow
whencomparedtobuying
newbottledwater.
Since 2015, we have
stopped almost half a
million bottles reaching
landfill
We like to think of ourselves as much more than just a
water company. Every day, we work with you to care for
the environment and protect the natural beauty of our
area. Take a look at what we’ve achieved so far…
50 miles
ofplastic
bottles
KEEPIT
GREEN
9. Whenever you want it, it’s there, keeping you,
your family and your home clean and hydrated.
So let’s hear it for the humble glass of water!
Water!Water!
I N T R O D U C I N G T H E F A B U L O U S L Y C L E A R…
IT MAY NOT BE AN iPAD
WITH UNLIMITED DATA,
BUT IT DOES KEEP
YOU ALIVE!
WE WON’T PROMISE YOU
NEXT-DAY DELIVERY
LIKE AMAZON, BECAUSE
IT’S THERE, AT YOUR
TAP… RIGHT NOW!
And we can’t give
you interest-
free credit like
Barclaycard, but
at £0.0001 per
glass it’s pretty
cheap already
#BRISTOLWATER