Water lot of fun – Lanes team takes a soaking for WaterAid

Intrepid paddlers from Lanes Group plc have made a splash for WaterAid as Thames Water revived its annual raft race on the River Thames.

There was no chance of any untoward risks when the participants took to the water in Reading because every one of them works for the Lanes Utilities health and safety team.

They were supporting Thames Water’s 22^nd annual raft race, on behalf of WaterAid, which had to be cancelled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lanes is Thames Water’s wastewater network services maintenance partner and regularly enters teams for the great paddle-off from the Reading Rowing Club to Fry’s Island and back.

This year’s race theme was ‘Superheroes’, in honour of all the key workers who continued to work throughout the pandemic, which included Thames Water and Lanes personnel.

The Lanes raft captain was Donya Seyadi, health and safety manager at Lanes, whose alter ego on the day was Cat Woman. She said: “We were really pleased to support Thames Water in taking part in the race.

“We risk assessed the event and concluded there was no chance we wouldn’t have a lot of fun. It’s a chance for us to come together with colleagues from across the Thames Water supply chain to support a very worthy cause.”

Donya was joined on the raft, which the team had to build before launching it into the River Thames, by Hadi ‘Superman’ Power, Romina ‘Scarlet Witch’ Jon-Akhtar, Tony ‘Deadpool’ Martin, Daniel ‘Batman’ Farrington, and Toby ‘Aquaman’ Cook.

Thames Water staff, supported by supply chain partners like Lanes, have raised over £1.3million to improve access to clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene in communities in Malawi, East Africa.

The latest figure means Thames Water’s employees, partners, and customers have donated more than £40 million to WaterAid since the charity was founded in 1981, with the money supporting vital projects across the globe.