When the weather heats up, naturally we all use more water for extra things, such as helping everyone stay cool and supplying kids with endless ice-lollies, drinks and a paddling pool! That’s in addition to our ongoing, everyday water use on things such as washing, cooking and flushing the loo. All this extra water use takes its toll on our supplies – and here’s why.
At Southern Water, we take water from rivers, lakes and the ground.
Because this water comes from the environment, we are closely regulated by the Environment Agency which limits the amount of water we can take in a day.
This is to protect our local wildlife, habitats and environment, as well as to ensure we have a sustainable water supply into the future.
Drinking water takes time
And because this water comes from the environment, it needs to be treated in our works to ensure it’s wholesome enough for customers to drink. Even though we can dial up our response for forecasted hot weather by increasing the amount of water we treat, it still takes several hours for the water to pass through a water treatment site, even when it’s working at full capacity.
It all makes a difference
To help us cope with peaks in demand like the one we are currently experiencing, we use treated water storage facilities. When these get low, it can take us days to recover.
We want you to use water to stay safe and healthy and to use it as and when you need. And we know our water resources, thanks to the recent rain, are at healthy levels.
But increase in demand – particularly now that more people are working from home and with school holidays and staycations upon us – can put supplies at risk of low pressure or even taps temporarily running dry.
What we’re doing and how you can help
We’ve worked hard over the last few years and have reduced the amount of treated water lost through leakage, including repairing more than 63 leaks a day, every day, for the last year.
And you can help too. Here are some simple steps to take this summer to save water and help keep taps flowing. Take a quick, refreshing shower instead of a bath, use the day’s paddling pool water on the plants and grass, and make sure your dishwasher and washing machine are full before turning them on.
If everyone makes small changes to the way they use water, we’ll ensure there’s enough for everyone. It all makes a difference.
Helen Simonian
Managing Director - Water