Stop, think and act before turning on the water tap

Although the temperature has cooled since the record-breaking highs earlier this week South East Water is reminding its customers it is still vital they continue to reduce their non-essential water use.

With the ground very dry and little rainfall forecast, the water company is asking communities to stop when they turn on the tap, think do they really need that water now and take action by putting hosepipes and sprinklers away while this unprecedented major pressure is on the water network continues.

During the hottest day on record on Tuesday (19 July) South East Water pumped 140 million litres of additional water into its network to keep up with the high demand – the equivalent of adding four towns to the size of Maidstone to its network overnight.

Despite treating this extra water, the company has been unable to keep up with the extraordinary demand to replenish supplies quickly enough to fill its massive underground storage tanks across its supply region which then supply its customers along 9,000 miles of pipes – enough to stretch from the UK to Australia.

Properties on high ground in Charing, Molash and Challock, plus those in Faversham, Wateringbury, Paddock Wood, Kemsing and West Kingsdown areas of Kent all experienced low pressure or intermittent supplies due to this high customer demand for water this week.

Supplies to the Faversham, Paddock Wood and Wateringbury areas are now back to normal, but work is still ongoing to clear airlocks in Kemsing and West Kingsdown and intermittent supplies will continue to affect Challock, Charing and Molash areas today.

Despite temperatures dropping to more comfortable levels and some rainfall, stocks of treated water have got very low in some areas and will take time to return to normal levels.

Douglas Whitfield, Operations Director at South East Water, said: “We cannot now say this more strongly. Please can people use only the water they need to keep hydrated and clean? Unfortunately, despite our best efforts with our staff working very long hours we continue to have communities with intermittent supply of water

“Stop, think and act – just three words that can help return crucial water needed by our communities at this very difficult time. As current conditions stand, one person’s paddling pool is another family’s drinking water for a week.”

STOP: No hosepipes and sprinklers.

THINK: What can I do to keep water consumption to just essential use?

ACT: Right now we all have to cut down on the amount of water we use

Further information on what is happening in local areas, locations of bottled water stations, as well as what steps customers can take to protect vital local water supplies, can be found at: www.southeastwater.co.uk