The town will be staging a huge festival to celebrate the area's abundance of rivers, lakes and harbours, as well as promote water conservation.

Havant has been chosen to host the Hampshire Water Festival because it has a history of natural springs and could be the location for a new reservoir under proposals by Portsmouth Water.

The event in July is being put together by the organisers of the Emsworth Food Festival, which was scrapped last year as many residents and businesses thought it had become too big for the town.

The water festival has been held in Winchester and Romsey over the past few years and has attracted up to 10,000 people over two days.

The free festival will be held at Staunton Country Park and will include water-based activities such as pond dipping, water sports and workshops examining the importance of water and how to avoid wasting it.

There will be more than 50 stalls selling water-themed food, from watercress to fish.

Staunton's famous glasshouses will also display the world's largest water lily – the Victoria Amazonica.

Tony Briggs, leader of Havant Borough Council, said: 'I can think of no better place in Hampshire to hold this water festival than Havant. Water was the basis both for Havant's origin and development through the fresh clear natural springs and watercourses which emerge here.'

Organiser Lulu Bowerman added: 'We are keen to make the event as fun as possible whilst ensuring there is a strong educational message.

'We would like visitors to think about their environment and just how easy it is to save water, plus of course strengthen the bond to the fantastic coastline we enjoy here.'

Education is high on the agenda with local schools using the water theme in lessons.

Over the weekend, schools will run a series of workshops and performances to showcase projects pupils have worked on.

The festival is being organised by the Hampshire Water Partnership – a collection of organisations including Hampshire County Council and Portsmouth Water.

The event will take place between 10am and 5pm on Saturday, July 25 and Sunday, July 26.


WATER FACTFILE

Between 70 and 75 per cent of the earth's surface is covered with water.

The total amount of water on the earth is about 326 million cubic miles.

By the time a person feels thirsty, the body has lost more than one per cent of its total water amount.

Roughly 70 per cent of an adult's body is made up of water.

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