Groundwater
Our drinking water is ground water held in the chalk aquifer. The aquifer can hold large quantities of water in a network of fractures and cracks in the rock and we are able to abstract it from 24 boreholes. Our drinking water is mostly abstracted from the chalk aquifer which lies to the south and east of Cambridge.
Groundwater is a reliable supply of water, and is generally more resilient to drought than surface water due to the slow response of groundwater levels to changes in rainfall. The water levels recede in the summer and are replenished by rainfall during the winter months.
We continually monitor water resources to ensure we can provide water effectively in periods of below-normal rainfall.