Water in Your Area
Moving Sewage and Clean Water
Once it has been through the water treatment works the clean, treated water either flows by gravity or is pumped through supply pipes, called trunk mains, which are up to 1.5 metres diameter.
In areas like East Anglia, the flat land means that gravity cannot always be used to move the water around This means that there are often series of pumping stations and service reservoirs to help move the water around the region. It can take water up to a week to travel from the treatment works to the houses at the end of the pipes, so more chlorine is added to keep the water clean and pure.
The water ends up in a covered storage tank, called a service reservoir. In some areas, the trunk mains lead to water towers. Water is pumped to a tank at the top of the tower, where gravity takes over to feed the houses, schools, factories and farms through a network of smaller pipes in our cities, towns and villages.
Unlike the pressurised system that ‘pushes’ the water to our homes, the wastewater and sewage is taken away from our homes using gravity. The pipes slope very slightly downhill.
Water flows downhill and everything that goes down the toilet, sinks and drains in your home moves through the pipes towards the sewage treatment works.
In very flat areas such as much of the Anglian Water area, the sewage has to be pumped uphill again occasionally to keep it moving!
Reservoirs
Although the main purpose of any reservoir is to store water they have much more to offer, whether people wish to relax or be active in the countryside.
Different reservoirs are important for different activities.
Not all reservoirs can offer all these activities because each group needs to be able to do their own thing without disturbing others.
Where is The World’s Fresh Water?
©2006 Anglian Water Services Ltd