Last week South East Water applied to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on Friday 10 October for a Drought Order to help conserve the remaining water stored within its Ardingly Reservoir and protect drinking water supplies in Sussex.

Following the driest spring in the south east since 1893, the lack of rainfall has put significant pressure on drinking water supplies, particularly in the Sussex region.

South East Water’s Ardingly Reservoir serves 228,000 customers in Haywards Heath and the surrounding areas in Sussex and currently stands at 27.6 per cent full. As a result, the drinking water company was granted a Drought Permit by the Environment Agency on Monday 22 September, which allows South East Water to vary the conditions of its abstraction licence.

The water company, which has 2.3 million customers across Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Berkshire and Hampshire, has already taken a number of actions to reduce pressure on its water resources, including fixing leaks, moving water around the network, injecting water into the network and putting in place a hosepipe ban in Kent and Sussex.

However, while these measures have had an impact, South East Water said the exceptional weather conditions mean more action is needed to protect customer drinking water supplies and the environment for as long as possible.

South East Water’s Head of Water Resources, Nick Price, said:

“This year has been exceptionally dry, and the River Ouse catchment in Sussex has only experienced two years (1976 and 1893) with lower spring and summer rainfall in its 155 year rainfall record. Consequently the River Ouse, where we take water from in Sussex for supply and to refill our Ardingly Reservoir, is running low.

“Therefore we are applying to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for a Drought Order to help conserve the remaining water that is stored within our Ardingly Reservoir.

“We are working closely with our regulators and following our Drought Plan which sets out the steps we take during periods of low rainfall. We would like to thank our customers who have also helped, by being mindful of their water use where possible, and appreciate their support in keeping demand down.

“To conserve as much water as possible we are also planning to remove some of the exemptions currently in place as part of our Temporary Use Ban, or hosepipe ban, for customers in Sussex. This action will come into effect on Friday 17 October.”