SOS: Save Our Streams – Affinity Water’s latest campaign
SOS: SAVE OUR STREAMS – Affinity Water’s latest campaign!
We had the pleasure of attending an intimate VIP evening celebrating Affinity Water’s latest campaign on Monday 17th May 2021, which was live streamed, literally, and involved rain, a ukulele, 4 hilarious comedians and a duck or two.
‘Stand-up for Our Streams’, was part of Affinity Water’s SOS: Save Our Streams campaign, which aims to address water-wastage and protect our precious chalk streams. We learned that our chalk streams (Coined ‘Britain’s Great Barrier Reef’) are endangered, more so than both the Bengal tiger and black rhino due to unsustainably high demand for water resulting in groundwater being taken.
We are drinking the same water that flows through nearby rivers and streams, which means we are a part of that local environment and there are a few easy steps that we all can take to reduce the amount of water that we use.
Affinity Water have launched the ‘Save Our Streams’ campaign in order to give us the tools and information that we need to waste less water, and help our local environment.
“Together, we need to save 21 million litres of water per day - shockingly, this is the equivalent of 140 million cups of tea, 37 million pints of water, 262,500 baths of water and 8.4 Olympic swimming pools.” - Affinity Water
Phil Williams, Three Rivers District Council’s Lead Member for Environmental Services, Climate Change and Sustainability, who attended the gig, said: “It’s great that Affinity Water are doing something positive about reducing our water usage, especially the wastage aspect, and this was a great way to start their campaign.
It is not every day that you get to enjoy top comedians delivering one-liners whilst standing knee deep in the River Chess chalk stream in the grounds of Chorleywood House, Hertfordshire.
The former ‘Bake Off’ front woman, QI host and keen environmentalist Sandi Toksvig joined fellow comedians Mark Watson, Eshaan Akbar and Helen Arney to support Affinity Water’s campaign in what was perhaps the most surreal gig of their careers.
Sandi Toksvig explains: “I am a firm believer that the protection of our environment is a shared responsibility. Having previously lived in a house boat, our waterways have a special place in my heart and I am proud to be helping to raise awareness and understanding of the simple steps we can all take to save these beautiful areas. What better way to do it than through entertainment and humour; let’s all ‘stand up for our streams’ and play a part in the protection of these national treasures.”
Mark Watson also commented that “Behind the laughter is a very serious message – we need to start treasuring our water now for the precious resource that it is. If no changes are made, by 2025 we will have a shortfall of 43 million litres per day.”
If you want to get involved and do your bit, you can take action now. Head to www.saveourstreams.co.uk to enter your postcode and answer a few questions about how you use water, gaining access to your exact household water usage stats and discovering if you’re eligible for a free water-saving kit and tailored advice.