Groundwork Greater Manchester, supported by the Environment Agency and partners launch Dispelling the Myth Project. The project aims to ignite conversations about water resources in the North West providing a bank of resources for the catchment partnerships across the region.

Water is our most precious resource, sustaining all life and livelihoods. If all the world’s freshwater was contained in a jug, the amount available to use could be represented as a single drop.

These water resources are just as precious in the North West.  Although a region with a reputation for plentiful rainfall, prolonged dry weather and drought can still cause problems for people and the environment, as experienced in 2018, 2020, 2022 and earlier this summer.

With pressure on our water resources and water environment increasing due to the impacts of climate change and population and economic growth, we ALL need to play our part and recognise the need to carefully manage our individual and collective use of water, looking after every drop.

The Dispelling the Myth project offers a collection of useful tools to those who want to explore this subject and work with stakeholders to plans for action based on understanding. The project consists of three main outputs:

1. Short Film: Highlighting the challenges faced by the region and emphasises the importance of water management. The video can be viewed on YouTube: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A55T8Fz7Gk8)

2. Template pack – Catchment-Based Water Resources Evidence Summary: The pack is hosted on the CaBA website here: ‘Dispelling the Myth’ around water resources – CaBA (catchmentbasedapproach.org)

3. Library of Resources: The project’s resource library contains links to useful websites, documents, and more, providing catchment partnerships with a wealth of knowledge about water as a vital resource. The library of resources is hosted on the CaBA website here: ‘Dispelling the Myth’ around water resources – CaBA (catchmentbasedapproach.org)

Commenting on the project, Aimee Brough, Partnerships Manager at Groundwork Greater Manchester, said, “Water is essential for our everyday lives and the prosperity of our region. The Dispelling the Myth project aims to raise awareness about the importance of sustainable water management and encourage collective action for the future.”

Ian Crewe, Area Director for Greater Manchester Merseyside and Cheshire at the Environment Agency added “We are proud to support the Dispelling the Myth project in Greater Manchester to help to raise awareness of sustainable water management and encourage collective action for the future. “Water is precious, and we should use it wisely. The Environment Agency works closely with water companies, farmers and wider stakeholders to carefully monitor water resources during periods of dry weather to ensure the needs of both water users and the environment are met.

“We all have a part to play to reduce water use and simple actions such as turning off taps when not needed, or using a water butt in gardens leaves more water to support the environment. The impacts of climate change and population growth means we all need to focus on reducing demand, using less water and being more efficient.”

Let’s come together to protect our most precious resource – water – today and for generations to come.