Needing wet weather after the summer season
It can take a while for our rivers and reservoirs to refill after dry weather. The River Test’s water levels are still around 25% lower than where they should be at this time of year, and it’s not just because of the record-breaking high temperatures we saw during the summer. In fact, rainfall has been lower than average for the last 10 months, so our water sources need time to replenish.
Keeping the Temporary Use Ban in place while rivers refill
We want to protect the environment by limiting the water we take out and enabling biodiversity to thrive. The precious chalk streams of the Rivers Test and Itchen, where we source our water for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, are rare ecosystems supporting wildlife and a variety of flora and fauna. That’s why we brought in a Temporary Use Ban – also known as a hosepipe ban – in those areas in August. We need to keep the restrictions of the Temporary Use Ban in place a bit longer, to give the rivers time to make up their lack of water,
Saving water with the Temporary Use Ban restrictions
Hosepipes typically use about 1,000 litres of water an hour – that’s’ more than one person uses in a week. A Temporary Use Ban – also known as a hosepipe ban - restricts the use of hosepipes for things like watering plants, cleaning cars or driveways, or filling up paddling pools. Over the last few weeks, by following these restrictions, our customers and colleagues in the area have saved roughly 11 million litres of water! That’s enough to fill over four Olympic-sized swimming pools. It’s a reduction in water use of about 5% compared to last year.
There are lots more ways to save to keep water use – and costs – down. Taking four-minute showers, fully loading the washing machine and only filling the kettle with what you need – it all helps.
Reducing leakage to save water
We’re investing £140 million in teams and innovative technology to find and fix more leaks, reducing the amount of water lost from our network. We’ve already repaired nearly 17,000 leaks so far this year. We’re using technology to help us and we have fitted 7,000 acoustic loggers to detect and pinpoint leaks, as well as over 50 highly specialised sensors to prevent mains bursts. Our Water Network Demand Manager, Phil has written a blog about it all.
Looking to the future with water for life
In our water stretched region, we need to make sure we’re ready for the challenges of more droughts due to climate change and the demands of an increasing population. In Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, our ambitious Water for life - Hampshire programme shows how we will revolutionise the way we source, treat and supply water across this area. To keep taps and rivers flowing today and in the future across the region, we’re investing around £350m over the next seven years.
Click here to find out more about TUBs