Actions South East Water will take before, during and after periods of drought to supply its customers with water are outlined in the final version of the company’s Drought Plan.
Written following widespread consultation, the plan details what actions will be taken to conserve water and secure customers’ supplies, while balancing the needs of the environment.
These actions include:
- Moving water around the network
- Fast-tracking schemes to increase water resources
- Working even harder to fix leaks
- Promoting sensible water use
- The introduction of temporary water use restrictions (commonly known as hosepipe bans).
Lee Dance, Head of Water Resources, South East Water, said: “Drought plans, cover a five year period and form part of our back-up programme for managing resources through extremely dry periods such as drought. Our first one was written on a voluntary basis almost 20 years ago in 2003.
“The consultation period with key stakeholders and local interest groups has proved extremely useful in drawing on the expertise of many wide-ranging organisations to give us an agreed plan in place to work together to beat future droughts.
The south east is one of the driest parts of England. It is an area of ‘serious water stress’ so autumn and winter rain is replied on to recharge groundwater aquifers, restore river flows and refill reservoirs which will be low if there is a very dry winter.
The south east is one of the driest parts of England. It is an area of serious water stress
Lee added: “This makes it harder to meet the demand for water, especially if the following summer is hot and dry. We cannot control the weather but we can all use water wisely. This will help us to be more resilient during periods of prolonged dry weather.”
Our full Drought Plan can be viewed here:
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