Everyone asked to help use water wisely as hot weather approaches

With high temperatures predicted to arrive in the south east, a water company is asking its customers to take some simple steps to make every drop count as the mercury rises.

The call comes from South East Water after the Met Office has forecasted that temperatures are slowly increasing day on day with some areas predicted to see high 20s and locally 30 Celsius by this weekend and into next week.

The amount of water available in reservoirs and groundwater stores in the South East is good for this time of year, but as summer continues customers are now increasingly using tap water for recreational activities in the garden such as filling giant paddling pools along with watering plants.

Everyone can make a difference by being more mindful and adopting some simple hints and tips to save water.

These include:

• Let nature water your grass- Allow lawns to go brown – it will soon go green again when it rains
• Save paddling pool water- Top-up and reuse paddling pool water for your plants and grass
• Put down the garden hose – Use watering cans for lawns, plants and flower beds, instead of garden hoses
• Running taps are wasteful- Don’t let taps run when brushing your teeth – turn them off
• Take shorter showers- Knocking a minute or two off to take shorter four minute showers
• Fill your dishwasher before you use it– Don’t use your dishwasher until it is full and save water and energy
• Wash your car less frequently - it’s a small change that will make a big difference for everyone.

In the past couple of years water companies, including South East Water, have seen a dramatic rise in household water usage with demand going up in hot weather by 50 per cent.

An increase in hotter drier summers caused by climate change as well as an increasing population mean there is a risk of water shortages by 2050 – saving water has never been more important.

To stop water from being wasted across our network the company has a dedicated leakage team which looks for, monitors and repairs leaks around the clock on its 9,000 miles of water mains – enough to stretch from the UK to Australia. In the past 12 months, we've spent around £20 million on fixing and detecting leaks in our supply area.

Lee Dance, Head of Water Resources, South East Water said: “We have 2.3 million customers in the South East and if everyone uses a lot of water at once, demand can outweigh the amount of water we are able to treat and get to homes and businesses.

“We are asking our customers to help us by being mindful of the water they use not only to protect our environment but to make sure everyone gets what they need to keep cool and hydrated. During the hot periods we are producing an extra million litres of drinking water a day - the equivalent of 1.25 million flushes of the toilet.

“Although we're used to managing high demand and have tried and tested plans in place, we are grateful to customers who play their part by using water wisely, so that we can continue to keep water flowing to everyone.”

Speaking on the latest Met Office 10 Day Trend Met Office Meteorologist and Presenter Alex Deakin said: “The strong July sunshine plus the high pressure squishing the air means that temperatures will be building through Sunday and Monday, likely to be over 30 Celsius and perhaps going up a notch further by the time we get to Tuesday.”

For water saving tips along with water efficiency freebies go to www.southeastwater.co.uk/savewaterinthesun (http://www.southeastwater.co.uk/savewaterinthesun)