Water is central to sustainable farming, but too often, it’s the part we leave out.
At Groundswell 2025, we set out to change that. As a water supplier working across some of the UK’s most environmentally sensitive landscapes, we were proud to join the event to share our work, listen to the farming community, and deepen our commitment to land and water stewardship.
Because water isn’t just something that arrives at the tap. It begins in the soil, runs through the land, and infiltrates into aquifers and carries the imprint of everything it touches.
What the land teaches us
One of our key messages at Groundswell was simple but powerful:
“Water quality starts with the land it moves through.”
Through the rainfall simulator demo, we showed exactly what this means in practice. Visitors could see side-by-side comparisons of how different soil management techniques impact runoff, erosion, and water infiltration. The difference between compacted, depleted soil and living, healthy soil was striking, and undeniable.
Healthy soil doesn’t just support better crops, it leads to healthier water. It’s all connected.
From the ground up
Each year, we test over 200,000 water samples to ensure safety for both people and ecosystems. But the real work starts upstream, through our work with farmers to optimise inputs, improve soil structure to reduce losses, and support the transition to regenerative practices that benefit the whole system. Affinity Water’s catchment team have supported the drilling of over 11,000ha of cover and companion crops, a core regenerative farming principle, since 2020. These crops help fix nitrate and prevent leaching and reduce runoff of sediment and pesticides into watercourses.
At Groundswell, we had the chance to speak with dozens of farmers about our catchment schemes, innovation grants, and landscape-scale restoration programmes, including work to protect globally rare chalk streams and improve catchment resilience.
Danny Coffey, Catchment Manager at Affinity Water, explains:
“Water quality can reflect what is happening in the landscape. When we invest in better soil management and regenerative farming, we’re also investing in cleaner water, resilient rivers, and healthy soils. Groundswell gave us a vital opportunity to show how these pieces fit together and to work with farmers who share that vision and help us treat water, out in the catchment.”
We’re not just a water company
Affinity Water is evolving. We’re not just managing infrastructure; we’re building long-term partnerships with the landowners and farmers who care for their land.
We believe that supporting landowners and farmers is essential to protecting water at its source. That’s why we’re investing in practical solutions, from funding cover and companion crops, to river restoration schemes, and to demonstrating what works through tools like our rainfall simulator.
We are here not just as a water supplier, but as a partner in resilience, nature recovery, and sustainable food production.
Looking ahead
Groundswell was a powerful reminder of the innovation and passion driving change in British agriculture. And it reinforced why water needs to be a bigger part of the conversation.
As climate pressures grow and water becomes an increasingly precious resource, we’ll need to work together more than ever, across sectors, landscapes, and disciplines.
To protect water, we need to protect everything it touches.
Notes to editor:
- Affinity Water supplies drinking water to over 3.9 million people across parts of London, the Home Counties, and the East of England. We are the largest water-only supplier in the UK.
- Affinity Water is committed to protecting and enhancing the environment. We invest in river restoration, support regenerative agriculture, and work with land managers to improve water quality at source.
- The company plays a leading role in protecting the UK’s rare chalk streams, over 60% of the world’s chalk streams are in England, many of which run through Affinity Water’s supply region.
- At Groundswell 2025, Affinity Water showcased a rainfall simulator to demonstrate how different soil structures affect runoff, infiltration, and water quality. This hands-on demo highlighted the vital role of soil health in protecting water resources.
- Through its Catchment and Land Management programme, Affinity Water offers funding, soil health testing, and advice to help farmers transition to practices that benefit both their land and local watercourses.
