What have we been up to in 2022?
In 2022, we supported 27,166 people at events across the region, while also helping to divert 270,340 bottles from landfill using our permanent and portable water refill points.
We supported races and county shows by supplying them with fresh tap water, as well as holding a range of our own events. Our water refill points, which are located in towns and cities in our region, have also been helping people to reduce their plastic usage and stay hydrated.
Here’s what we’ve been up to this year.
Refill events
We supplied water at 12 races, marathons and cultural events where 22,042 people used our refill points.
The races we supported were the Bath Half Marathon, Yeovil Half Marathon, Corsham 10k, Bromham 10k and the Race for Life events in Taunton, Poole, Salisbury, Yeovil and Bath.
We also supplied water at Salisbury and Taunton Pride, and Green Space Dark Skies.
‘Around the bend’ tours
In June and July, around 1,400 people attended our 'Around the bend' tours, which took place at 15 of our water recycling centres across the region.
The guided tours gave customers a look behind the scenes and helped them to understand how we treat 480 million litres of sewage every day.
The tour guides also taught attendees about what shouldn’t be put down the toilet and sink to help prevent blockages.
County shows
During summer, we attended the Gillingham and Shaftesbury, Dorset, and Somerset County Shows.
At these events, we ran water butt competitions to help customers save water and educated customers about what not to flush down the loo.
In total, 2,343 people used our refill points at these events.
Education events
We held drop-in days at our sites, where we engaged with 540 adults and 841 children, teaching them about our services and giving them the opportunity to explore nature.
Through our education service, we also worked with schools to teach children about a range of topics, including water and sewage treatment, the water cycle, river studies and more.
This year, we worked with 125 schools, which saw us engage with 3,558 adults and 9,498 children.
Festival of nature
In June this year, we joined forces with the Natural History Consortium to sponsor and support the Festival of Nature.
The week-long event consisted of a packed programme of nature walks and talks, family activities, wildlife workshops and digital events across Bath and Bristol.
Our support helped the charity put on these activities which enabled local people to connect with nature and wildlife.