It's been hot, hot, hot recently. Whilst this has meant long, lazy summer evenings and days filled with butterflies and dragonflies, our rivers and lakes have taken a real hit from the high temperatures and weeks without rain. To make matters worse, in the East of England water consumption is extremely high. Hertfordshire residents use one of the highest amounts of water per person compared to other UK counties. Coupled together this means that our precious rivers are under extreme stress. 

The more water we use, the less water there is for our chalk streams and rivers.  This has huge effects on our local wildlife from our already threatened water voles, to the brightly coloured kingfisher. Fish can be left stranded, leading to thousands of deaths, and important riverside vegetation that animals depend on for habitat and food can quickly dry out.

But there are things we can do to lessen our impact on local wildlife by saving water.

Affinity Water are working in partnership with Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust to conserve and enhance their sites for wildlife and so that they are valued, used and enjoyed by their respective local communities. Read Affinity's top water-saving tips below: