Future for Water
Creating change through unexpected collaboration
Our Why
Water isn't a resource to manage - it's the living foundation of everything we cherish. Rivers, lakes, seas, the water we drink - they sustain life, spark joy, nurture communities, and connect us to something larger than ourselves.
Protecting water can't happen through isolated efforts or occasional events. It requires something deeper - genuine relationships across divides, sustained partnerships that persist, creative approaches that touch hearts as much as minds, and the patient work of weaving a movement. That's what Future for Water creates.
We bring together people who rarely share the same space - water company leaders and wild swimmers, government ministers and citizen scientists, regulators and artists - not for staged dialogue, but for genuine collaboration that builds into new projects and shared purpose.
Through year-round policy work , creative engagement (art, storytelling, emotional connection that shifts how people relate to water), community empowerment (supporting river groups with networks, visibility, and collaborative power), and annual celebration (The River Summit & Festival), we're weaving a movement that lasts. Rivers are central to this - they're where water becomes visible, beloved, something we can stand beside and protect together although our work spans the full spectrum of water challenges such as quality, consumption, conservation, the deeply human dimension of how we relate to the water that sustains us. We exist because water's future requires more than technical solutions. It requires human connection, creative thinking, and the patient work of building relationships strong enough to weather disagreement and achieve transformation together.
Our Vision
We see a future where protecting water isn't sporadic, siloed, or left to experts alone. It's a living, collaborative movement where diverse voices work together year-round, where creative approaches unlock what technical fixes miss, where policy is informed by lived experience and genuine relationships. Future for Water is weaving that movement with year-round collaborative action, through The Testing the Waters Consortium, water companies work alongside citizen scientists, regulators collaborate with NGOs, tech innovators partner with community groups, not for one meeting, but month after month building the relationships and shared understanding that make genuine policy change possible - we are actively shaping it together.
Creative Engagement & Emotional Connection - Water challenges are human challenges. We use art, storytelling, and creative expression to build the emotional connection that drives protection. Artists turn water test data into visual beauty. Dancers celebrate rivers and filmmakers document what we're fighting for because creativity touches hearts in ways regulations never will, and lasting change requires both head and heart engaged.
Supporting local river groups and citizen scientists with more than just information - with genuine relationships, collaborative networks, shared learning, amplified voices. Not just during events, but throughout the year when communities need support, connection, and the knowledge they're part of something larger.
The River Summit & Festival (4-5 September, Henley) is where year-round relationship-building becomes visible joy and where unlikely friendships form over knowledge shared, where creative expression and serious work coexist beautifully. We're creating a movement where water unites rather than divides - where collaboration is genuine, not performative, where creativity and science work together, where change grows from connection, not just conviction.
Our Mission
We weave the relationships, partnerships, and shared purpose that make water protection collaborative, sustained, and rooted in genuine human connection. We create spaces for ongoing collaboration. The Testing the Waters Consortium isn't a one-off meeting - it's a growing community of practice where water companies, citizen scientists, NGOs, regulators, and tech innovators meet regularly, build relationships, produce policy recommendations together, and influence government decisions through collective voice developing the power of sustained collaboration and driving tangible change through partnership
Art makes invisible water quality visible and beautiful. Storytelling builds emotional connection that data alone cannot. Music, film, dance, creative expression - these shift how people feel about water, which shifts how they protect it. We integrate artists into water work because creativity is transformation too.
Understanding the human dimension - Water's future depends on how people relate to it - what we consume, how we conserve, whether we feel connected enough to protect. We're exploring water behaviour with curiosity and compassion, from efficiency to emotional connection to active engagement to understand and nurture.
Convening unlikely partnerships - The River Summit & Festival brings together voices that rarely meet - but it works because we've spent the year building trust, showing up consistently, proving our independence, and creating safety for genuine dialogue. When water company CEOs and activists collaborate authentically, it's because relationships have been nurtured month after month.
This is patient, creative, relational work.
How We Work
Future for Water is an independent charity creating change through unexpected collaboration.
We do this through:
The River Summit & Festival - our annual gathering by the river where policy meets creativity, science meets art, and unlikely partnerships form (4-5 September, Henley)
Testing the Waters Consortium - transforming how the UK monitors water quality through year-round collaboration between water companies, citizen scientists, regulators, and tech innovators
Exploring human behaviour and water - from sustainable fashion to consumption patterns, understanding how people relate to water to create lasting change
Turning conversations into action - outcomes from our events become policy submissions, community empowerment tools, and real-world projects (like the UK's first publicly available live E. coli data in Windsor with Proteus)
Introducing people who need to meet - because transformation happens when artists collaborate with scientists, when communities connect with innovators and water companies work with citizen scientists.
We're independent, dynamic, and focused on what actually works. We believe in hope.
"The River Festival and Summit was an amazing space to meet up with NGOs, leaders, academics and politicians to share tactics, build collaborations and deepen understanding. It felt a very calm and privileged space to take the time to hear the full range of perspectives, rather than residing in the echo chamber of like minds. Claire was an amazing hostess, making the whole event feel more garden party than protest, and that was instrumental in helping people feel welcome and valued. There was plenty of opportunity for small discussions as well as getting access to the very best evidence on both the state of our water ways and the solutions. I made new friends and had some very challenging conversations. Thank you."
- - Professor Becky Malby, BEM
“Last year, the UK River Summit was described by industry and environmental leaders as a catalyst for change—and that’s exactly what we set out to create. The overwhelming feedback was that people had never been to an event where such a diverse group of stakeholders—scientists, anglers, policymakers, campaigners, regulators, and creatives—came together in one room, all united by a shared commitment to protecting our rivers. It was powerful, energising, and long overdue. With The River Summit and Festival, we’re building on that momentum—creating not just a platform, but a movement. A space where conversation leads to collaboration, and where action is driven by shared passion, not silos. We are committed to staying fiercely independent so that we can encourage open, robust discussion and facilitate the important debates that need to happen—without agenda, and without fear. In doing so, we hope to spark the kind of partnerships that lead to meaningful, lasting impact for our rivers.”
- Claire Zambuni, Founder of The UK River Summit & Festival
James Wallace, CEO of River Action said, "The UK River Summit is rapidly becoming a key date in the environmental sector events diary. With a combination of discussion panels, talks and festival-like side shows, Claire Zambuni and her small team have structured a truly inspiring, welcoming and pragmatic event. Using our discussions on the freshwater emergency and imminent water shortages as an example, the Summit is not just a talk shop. As with the rest of the day, the participants and attendees were engaged in considering practical solutions to the challenges facing our rivers, and how we will work together with urgency to implement them. I look forward very much to next year's programme and offer all the support River Action can muster to ensure it builds on this year's successes."
Learn About Us
On 13th June 2023, we invited the public to the first UK River Summit, hosted on the banks of the River Test. The event successfully brought together some of the country’s most influential environmental speakers and experts to talk about the state of our rivers in the UK and the action needed.
Check out our event video by FridaySky to get a feel for what we’re all about.