Sponsored Editorial

Investment by South East Water since the start of the year of £16m in Kent’s drinking water network has included the opening this month of a state-of-the-art water treatment works.

The company, which supplies drinking water to parts of the county, is also spending millions of pounds on leak detection technology to help find and fix leaks across its vast network of more than 9,000 miles of pipes - that's enough to stretch from Kent to Australia.

Extra capacity in the water network is helping the company to meet the increased demand it is seeing right across the county but when the heat is turned up it is still asking its customers to think before turning on the tap.

This is because each litre has to come from underground aquifers, rivers and reservoirs before being treated to make it safe to drink. It is then pumped along miles of pipe to every home and business in the region.

By using water more efficiently, less has to be taken out of these rivers and aquifers, resulting in protecting water resources and the wildlife that live in them and rely on them for their survival.

In addition to the pressures put on the water supply during periods of high temperatures, over the past two summers the demand for water has seen a dramatic increase due to the fallout from the pandemic.

Record numbers of people have been working from home and combined with the rise of staycations in the south east this has resulted in an extra 100 million litres of water being produced daily on hot days - the equivalent of 1.25 million flushes of the toilet – putting a strain on the county’s water network and the environment from where the water is abstracted from.

Lee Dance, Head of Water Resources, said: “We have 2.2 million customers in the South East and if everyone uses a lot of water at once, even with our multi-million investment in our infrastructure, demand can outweigh the amount of water we are able to treat and get to homes and businesses.

“I would like to say thank you to our customers for 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.

“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.”

EASY STEPS TO SAVE WATER

These small swaps can make a huge difference and ensure there’s enough water for everyone...

• Swap sprinklers for watering cans
• Leave lawns to go golden
• Re-use paddling pool water
• Water plants out of hours
• Keep the hot tub clean so you don’t have to keep changing the water
• Don’t wash the car (a little dirt won’t hurt this summer)

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