Water use is soaring so we need your help!
Lots of us are spending more time at home. Because of this - and the warm weather we're enjoying - demand for water has rocketed.
What’s the issue?
Hot temperatures and dry weather last Bank Holiday saw exceptional demand placed on the drinking water network as everyone spent more time at home, particularly in the garden.
This meant we had to pump an extra 140 million litres of water into our pipeline network on Monday to keep up with demand. The amount of water used was around a third more than usual for this time of year!
It looks like this warm weather is set to continue.
What we’re doing?
We've been treating and pumping an additional 78 million litres of water a day through our network. But more water is being used on DIY projects and gardening which is contributing to the additional 14% of water we're treating and pumping through our network.
Garden sprinklers alone use as much water in an hour as a family of six uses in a day, which contributes to an increased demand of 70% on hot days.
This extra water use puts an increasing strain on the extensive network of pipes, pumping stations and treatment works we look after and it can lead to low pressure or a loss of water for some customers at times of peak demand such as the early evening.
We understand that the world we now live in is very different to before and although we make very sophisticated plans covering the next 60 years of water use, as with everyone else, we could never have predicted this unprecedented situation which COVID-19 has brought about.
The water is available in our boreholes and key reservoirs, the problem we’re facing is that at times people use water at a faster rate than we can pump it from our sources, treat it and get it to customers’ taps.
Our key worker teams worked tirelessly over the weekend to keep taps running and will continue to do so, but to ensure there is enough water for everyone as the hot weather continues we need your help.
How you can help us
We’re asking everyone to help make sure there’s enough water to go around by taking 2 simple steps:
1. Let your lawn go brown
2. Be proud of your dirty car
These 2 easy actions will help make sure there is enough water for our communities, while fighting the virus.
Water is a key tool in the fight against the virus as it keeps people healthy and hydrated and is essential to keep up with the extra hygiene measures everyone is taking. Water is also key for the hospitals and care homes across the South East region so we need your help making sure there’s enough to go around.
Thank you and stay safe
The South East Water team
