Anglian Water and Affinity Water are among the latest water companies who are calling on their customers to use water wisely and reuse wherever possible as the hot, dry weather continues.

The latest data from Anglian Water shows the water company pumped an additional 200 million litres of water to homes across the East on some of the warmest days this week – almost 20% more than normal and equates to every customer drinking roughly an additional 100 cups of tea a day, or each taking an extra three-minute shower.

The water company provides over four million customers with drinking water across the East of England, supplying on average a billion litres of water a day to homes and businesses.

The East of England is one of the driest regions in the country and has a delicate environmental balance. Parts of the region remain in ‘drought status’ as classified by the Environment Agency, as in addition to the impacts of last year's extreme weather conditions, over the last two years the areas seen lower than average levels of rainfall.

Heatwaves and drought are just some of the kinds of extreme weather challenges that are becoming more common as a result of global climate change. The East of England is also one of the fastest growing regions, with potential population growth of a million people by 2045 – this increasing demand for water in the region is putting even more pressure on resources and the water networks.

Lottie Williams Water Saving Manager, at Anglian Water commented:

“We have an army of engineers working round the clock to make sure we can keep taps running today and tomorrow. The resilience we’ve created, combined with record low levels of leakage in our networks and 90% of our customers having meters, means we’re able to manage drawn out periods of intense hot weather. And while our water supplies are currently in relatively good health across the region, what we can’t do is ‘make more water’, so we must all continue to work together and that includes relying on our customers to use water wisely and reuse wherever possible.”

Affinity Water is likewise encouraging its customers to save water as warmer weather is likely to result in an increase in demand.

Keith Haslett, CEO of Affinity Water said:

“The summer of 2022 was exceptionally hot and dry, substantially increasing demand for water, and we’re grateful for your support to use water wisely during this time. The weather last year resulted in below average water resource levels for the time of year. The wet autumn, winter and spring saw our resources recover, with groundwater levels now above average and well above where they were last spring. This means that it’s very unlikely that we would need to introduce a temporary use ban (or hosepipe ban) this year. Despite this, it’s important to continue saving water all year round.”

Heatwaves and drought are among the extreme weather challenges that are becoming more common as a result of global climate change. The East of England is one of the fastest growing regions, with potential population growth of a million people by 2045 – increasing demand for water in the region is putting even more pressure on resources and the water networks.

Commenting on the current heatwave, Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Dan Harris said:

“Temperatures will rise later this week and into the weekend, with a plume of warm air being drawn in from the south. Temperatures over the weekend could peak around 30°C in some parts of England and remain well above average during night-times.”