South East Water asks customers to use water for essential purposes only

South East Water asks customers to use water for essential purposes only

• With temperatures widely expected to exceed 35°C this week, demand for drinking water is expectedly high
• Customers are asked to use water for essential purposes only: hygiene, drinking and cooking.

With another heatwave forecast this week (week commencing 22 June) South East Water is asking customers to use water for essential purposes only to help keep taps flowing for everyone.

As anticipated the demand for water is higher due to the hot weather. Yesterday (Sunday, 21 June) the total amount of water treated and put into South East Water’s network was 644 million litres, that’s 56 million litres more than the average for June (588 million litres). It’s anticipated that this figure will rise further with hotter weather forecast for later this week.

To help meet this demand the drinking water company is:

• Working hard to keep Water Treatment Works operating at capacity 24/7
• Increasing the number of teams out fixing bursts and leaks to save more water
• Re-routing water around its network
• Using its fleet of tankers to inject water into the network and fill drinking water storage tanks
• Managing pressure across the network

Despite these actions, when demand is as high as this on consecutive days, those living at the far end of the pipeline network, or on higher ground, can experience supply issues. This is because water is being used faster than it can be treated to refill the pipes and storage tanks.

Until the temperatures reduce, customers are being asked to make simple changes to help keep the taps flowing for everyone and prevent further measures. These include:

• Pausing all hose use, including for refilling paddling pools, hot tubs and jet washing
• Only using water for hygiene, drinking and cooking

The drinking water company is taking direct action to build more resilience into its network to cope with the changing climate and more frequent heatwaves, however building this infrastructure takes time. South East Water is focused on delivering its long-term business plan, the most ambitious ever produced by the Company. It details a proposed investment of £2.1bn over five years and is designed to improve operational resilience while keeping customer bills affordable.