Wonderfully water wise

11/07/2006

Water customers have been congratulated for using water wisely during the hot weather of the last few weeks.

Although the recent hot spell has increased the demand for water, Essex & Suffolk Water customers have continued to think about the water that they use and demand is well below the levels reached during the hot summer of 2003.

Demand for water over the last week peaked at just over 440 million litres per day - significantly less than at the same time in 2003 when demand was at just under 460 million litres per day.

John Devall, operations director said: “We would like to say thank you to all of our customers who have used water wisely over the last few months.

“We always receive very positive responses from our customers and we would encourage them to continue to work with us to ensure that we all conserve this precious resource.

“It does remain very dry and river flows are still very low and so it is important that customers continue to use water wisely and keep demand down if we are to avoid the need for restrictions later in the summer.”

The 1.7 million customers in the Essex & Suffolk Water supply area have made the savings by following a range of water-wise tips which include using a water butt in the garden, installing a save-a-flush device and using a bucket rather than a hose to wash the car.

Although Essex & Suffolk Water’s two major reservoirs – Hanningfield near Chelmsford and Abberton near Colchester - are currently full, nineteen of the last twenty months have been drier than average and river flows are very low.

About half of the Essex & Suffolk Water supply in the Suffolk area comes from underground sources. Levels are currently reasonable and are being monitored very carefully as these can be affected by long dry periods.

Mr Devall added: “During this very dry period it is important we keep working in partnership with our customers to encourage wise use of water to reduce waste and protect supplies.”

Further information can be found on the Essex & Suffolk Water website – www.eswater.co.uk – or by calling the leaflet line on 08456 048 071.

For further information please call Claire Bishop on 01245 212 010.