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.
