With temperatures widely expected to exceed 35°C this week, South East Water is asking its customers to use water for essential purposes only.
With another heatwave forecast this week and demand for drinking water expected to be high, the water is company asking customers to use water for essential purposes only to help keep taps flowing for everyone - hygiene, drinking and cooking.
Yesterday the total amount of water treated and put into South East Water’s network was 644 million litres, 56 million litres more than the average for June (588 million litres). It is anticipated that this figure will rise further with hotter weather forecast for later this week.
South East Water explained that to help meet this demand it is:
- Working hard to keep Water Treatment Works operating at capacity 24/7
- Increasing the number of teams out fixing bursts and leaks to save more water
- Re-routing water around its network
- Using its fleet of tankers to inject water into the network and fill drinking water storage tanks
- Managing pressure across the network
Until the temperatures reduce, customers are being asked to make simple changes to help keep the taps flowing for everyone and prevent further measures. These include:
- Pausing all hose use, including for refilling paddling pools, hot tubs and jet washing
- Only using water for hygiene, drinking and cooking
However, the water company is warning that despite these actions, when demand is as high as this on consecutive days, customers living at the far end of the pipeline network, or on higher ground, can experience supply issues.
“This is because water is being used faster than it can be treated to refill the pipes and storage tanks,” South East Water says.
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