If I were to say to you, that there is a compound that can extend the life expectancy of the average human being by twenty five years, would you be interested? Unfortunately developing this compound would require the finest minds, the latest, most innovative technology and vast sums of money to develop and isolate it, so it could be delivered in a safe form for the benefit of everyone, would you be still interested or think I was mad….

Well I am not mad, thought sometimes I think it helps, because we already have this magical compound. So just to prove to you that the finest minds, the latest, most innovative technology and vast sums of money have already be utilised to bring you clean drinking water.

One John Snow proved the link between water and cholera, some of the finest minds, developed the latest, most innovative technology and invested vast sums of money to bring clean water to the homes of everyday people, and it changed the world for the better.

Sandfields Pumping Station in Lichfield is the home of clean water, and bought relief to the beleaguered communities of the industrial Black Country. So next time you time you turn on a tap to take a drink of clean water, take a moment or two to think about the technology that delivers water to your home, and where it all started.

The story of clean water is a remarkable story of human endeavour and achievement which the Lichfield Waterworks Trust would like to share with you. We want to share this story, not by telling you the facts, or by giving you a book to read or a cleaver lecture, but by inviting you to visit one of the redundant pumping stations and just exploring the place for yourself.

• No interpretation panels, or wordy explanations
• No ‘we will tell you what we think you need to know’.
• No over enthusiastic guides to bombard you with facts and dates

 We just want to say ‘please touch’, pick this object up and hold it, feel free to explore and free your mind. Just enjoy the amazing sense of place. And final then, if you do have a question, we will do our best to answer it.