Anglian Water urges customers to use water wisely as hot weather continues(2)

Anglian Water is urging customers to use water wisely and reuse wherever possible to help ensure there’s enough to go around as the hot, dry weather appears to be here to stay.  

During the hot weather, the water company sees peak demand levels rising which puts pressure on the water network. If everyone draws on that supply at the same time, the water company could see water pressures dip, meaning it can’t flow from the taps so freely. 

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 – that's 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. 

Lottie Williams, Water Saving Manager, at Anglian Water said, “We want everyone to enjoy the fabulous sunshine, and use the water they need to stay hydrated and healthy, however we’re asking customers to be even more mindful of their water usage at the moment so that there’s enough to go round everyone while leaving enough in the environment for nature to thrive too. Paddling pools are the go-to cooler, but a standard pool can use up to 400 litres of water – that's four full water butts. It would be great if people could reuse this water, for example to water their plants, instead of using the tap.” 

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 water comes from a combination of groundwater sources and surface water reservoirs. 

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 area’s 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 added, “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, while continuing to have fun in the sun.”  

Anglian’s Top Water Saving tips: 

Small actions make a big difference.  

    - Leave a jug of tap water in the fridge to cool down rather than running the tap until it's cold. Make sure you stay safe and hydrated in the heat! 
    - If you’ve already filled the paddling pool for the day, don’t empty it! You can save loads on your water bill by using gentle disinfectant tablets that keep the paddling pool water fresh for days of use and fun with the kids. If you can’t save the paddling pool for another day, make sure you reuse the water to wash the dog, the car or water the flower beds, before reaching for the hose. 
    - Learn to love your brown lawn – leave the sprinkler in the shed this summer. Grass is extremely hard to kill. Your lawn will soon bounce back and be vibrant and green again.    
    - Use your bath or washing up water to top up your water butt to use on your plants. 
Take part in Anglian Water's shorter shower challenge. Cutting showers to just 5 minutes a day can help save each household an approximate 28,000 litres of water and over £100 in energy and water every year.  

For more top tips visit Anglian Water’s water saving page.   

Whilst you’re hard at work saving water in the home and garden, Anglian Water is working non-stop to make sure there’s enough water for everyone and the environment today and tomorrow. Find out how they are saving and sourcing water responsibly here.