Glastonbury Festival: Dedicated water supply aids plastic ban

A new reservoir at Glastonbury is expected to help supply up to three million litres of water a day for festival-goers.

Work to install the infrastructure for the site began in March.

Demand for water in the area is up to six times higher than usual during the event, Bristol Water said.

Single-use plastic bottles are banned at Glastonbury, with ticketholders asked to take reusable ones to the event.

A ban introduced for the 2019 festival, saved about 1.7 million bottles from landfill, organisers said.

Bristol Water's chief executive Mel Karam said providing fresh drinking water to more than 200,000 extra people provided "a unique logistical challenge".

Mark Lewis, network distribution manager at the firm, said the biggest challenge was maintaining supplies to other local towns and villages, including Shepton Mallet and Pilton.

He said with the increase of visitors to the area, alongside the additional demand required by the festival, staff were "significantly busier than usual".

He said after the festival was over, it could take up to two weeks to return the water network to normal.

Mr Karam said the company supported the campaign to cut plastic pollution and refill water bottles.

The free-to-use water bar is near the John Peel Stage.

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