Your garden can still glow without a hosepipe. Working together to use less water means we can all enjoy summer.
The beginning of June saw temperatures rise and a record spike in demand for water, which put immense pressure on our ability to supply water to some customers in Kent and Sussex.
Our teams worked around the clock, ensuring every available water treatment works and supply source was operating 24/7 at maximum output to treat more water, enough additional water to supply four towns the size of Maidstone or Eastbourne.
We also re-routed water around our network and injected water straight into the system.
However, water was drawn out so rapidly that some customers were affected by low pressure or no water. We could not treat and pump enough to keep up with the demand for everyone.
The most effective short-term strategy for ensuring supply is rapidly reducing demand, so implementing restrictions puts the brakes on all non-essential water usage, such as watering gardens with hosepipes.
On June 16, we introduced Temporary Use Ban, restricting the use of hosepipes. We know this can seem disappointing for customers, but restrictions do not have to end fun or mean gardens suffer.
There are many simple swaps you can make, from using a watering can instead of a hosepipe, to utilising water blasters instead of a paddling pool. Remember plants don't like their water too cold, so you could fill up your watering can early in the morning and leave it aside to use later in the evening when the ground has cooled.
You may be thinking, what is the difference between a hosepipe and a bucket or watering can? A hosepipe uses 1000 litres of water an hour, far more than is needed to nourish plants. In comparison, most watering cans usually hold around 10 litres of water, saving a lot of water and helping to ensure there is water for everyone.
It doesn’t stop there; we need to work together.
We are also working hard on reducing water use by finding and fixing leaks. We continuously work on reducing leakage, with 52 teams repairing leaks reactively and more than 60 leakage technicians searching for and finding leaks proactively, as well as using innovative detection technology.
We are also increasing the amount of water we can supply through more storage tanks for treated, drinking-quality water, whilst implementing solutions at points in our network where water supply can be a challenge.
We are also proposing several initiatives to increase capacity and connectivity and be more resilient in the future. You can find out more about our plans for the future of water here.
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