Summer water saving tips

• Don’t fill your paddling pool to the top and you could save 30 litres of water per inch saved.
• When you’ve finished playing in the paddling pool, why not use the remaining water to water your garden?
• Check the weather and schedule your car wash for a day after it rains. Washing your car on the grass helps put the excess water to good use and try using a bucket instead of a hose.
• Having a BBQ? Wait until everyone’s had their seconds (or thirds!) and fill up the dishwasher. Did you know a full dishwasher on eco-setting uses less water than washing up by hand?!
• Dish the dirt – there’s no need to pre-rinse any plates, simply scrape and place in the dishwasher.
• If you’re out and about, please help us spot leaks. Warm weather can cause pipe damage. To save water in your area, report any leaks you spot so that they can be fixed quickly - visit www.eswcommunityportal.co.uk/leaks or call 0800 526 337.

• Remember to keep hydrated! Clean, clear and great tasting tap water helps to keep your body refreshed and healthy during those hot summer days. Here’s more tips on keeping hydrated
• Keep a jug of water in the fridge so you have cool and refreshing water to hand, saving you running the tap. Or simply keep your freezer topped up with ice-cubes!
• Finished with that drink? Pop those leftover ice-cubes onto plant pots, indoors or outdoors to give them a refreshing drink too
• Having a salad? Wash your produce in a bowl of water instead of under running tap water
• Have a refreshing shower rather than a bath and save 10 litres every time. By also having shorter showers (aim for four minutes per day) – you can save up to 17 litres per day
• Need to cool down quick? Hold a cold wet towel on your wrists, neck and knees. This helps cool you down without the need to take a shower
• Or why not keep yourself cool on hot days by filling a spray bottle with water to spritz yourself with. Much more elegant than a hosepipe dance and uses much less water.
• Enjoying a workout or going for a walk? Make sure you carry a reusable water bottle with you to keep yourself going during your exercise
• Fixing your house up this summer? Why not also install some water saving devices when you’re working on home improvements.

        Order your free water saving kit here.

• Check your toilet for leaks. Leaking toilets can waste up to 215 litres of water a day. If it’s leaking, Essex & Suffolk Water can help.

• Water plants in the evening or first thing in the morning as the sun and wind evaporates water
• Use a watering can to water the garden, instead of a hosepipe or sprinkler system. It helps you water your plants more precisely too – aim for the roots rather than the leaves to help your plants grow
• Why not make your own watering can?

        Download our free activity sheet here

• Get a water butt to collect rainwater. This gives you a free supply of water to use in the garden during warmer periods.

        Click here to find out more about water butts

• Look out for black leaves, this could mean your overwatering your plants
• Remove weeds, they compete with your plants for precious water
• Pick the right plants for your garden, we’ve our recommendations here

We’re experiencing some of the hottest months of the year and more of us have been at home using more water than normal.

This means there’s been more handwashing, cooking and cleaning in our houses and paddling pools and hosepipe use in our gardens. With the warm weather, all of us also want to stay cool. Many of us aren’t travelling abroad this summer so there’s more of us using water at home too.

But if we had so much wet weather before, surely that’s not a problem? Yes, thanks to the rain, we have enough water in our reservoirs and rivers however, to make water safe to drink, it has to go through a treatment process before it arrives at your tap.

On average, we treat 470 million litres of water a day. Since lockdown, we’ve been keeping the water flowing but in hot weather, demand soars so we’ve seen high peaks during lockdown.

Sprinklers, hosepipes and paddling pools all require extreme large quantities of water. Plus everyone suddenly seems to be wanting to wash their car!

So all across the country, water companies are asking everyone to please use water wisely during the lockdown. Please help us to keep the water flowing and save water.

Water supplies in the region remain at healthy levels for this time of year.

We have no plans in place to implement any drought measures such as hosepipe bans, but it is good practice for everyone to use water wisely.

We’ve seen an increase in demand for water recently, with both the warm weather and the coronavirus pandemic resulting in people spending more time at home, and using more water.

We’re used to managing demand and dry weather so we’re operating as normal and have tried and tested plans in place. This includes moving water around the network and topping up the network where we can.

However, we would ask our customers to work with us and use water wisely, so that we can continue to manage supplies and keep the water flowing. Customers should continue to keep washing their hands regularly with soap and water to help stop coronavirus spreading.

Our reservoirs capture and store raw rainwater.

However, a lot of work goes into turning rainwater into something we can safely drink and use. While our water supplies are at healthy levels, people are using water as quickly as we can treat it and transfer it into our network directly to our customers’ homes.

To help us manage our supplies and keep water flowing to you, we are moving water around the network.

This means that you might be receiving water from a different part of our network than you’re used to, however it is perfectly safe to drink.

You can help by using water wisely.

Small changes can make a big difference, from turning the tap off while brushing your teeth or cutting a minute off your morning shower. You should continue to keep washing your hands regularly with soap and water to help stop coronavirus spreading.