HOSEPIPE bans affecting more than a million households across Kent and Sussex have been lifted, bringing an end to months of water-use restrictions following one of the driest springs on record.
South East Water confirmed today (Thursday, February 5) that customers can once again use hosepipes, after improved water levels eased pressure on supplies across the region.
The Temporary Use Ban, which came into force on July 18 last year, affected around 1.4 million customers after England experienced its driest spring since 1893, triggering record demand for drinking water.
A combination of widespread rainfall over the past two months and reduced consumption by residents has since helped replenish water resources, allowing the restrictions to be lifted.
Rainfall across the winter months to date has been above the long-term average. This has helped Ardingly Reservoir to completely fill up and Arlington Reservoir to recover to 83 per cent full. The ground has responded by retaining the moisture and allowing water to seep down and recharge the aquifers that hold groundwater.
Nick Price, Head of Water Resources for South East Water said: “We’d like to thank all our customers for following the restrictions and finding ways to cut down on their water use. We appreciate that restrictions impact the way people use water and carry out daily tasks.
“Despite the recent wet weather, last year England experienced the driest spring since 1893, and the hottest summer on record, with four separate heatwaves. Our water resources felt the impact of this. We have been following our Drought Plan and closely monitoring all water resources to make sure they fully recover through the winter. This is why we are only able to remove restrictions now.
“Due to the consistent rainfall in the winter months to date, we can lift our Temporary Use Ban as we have seen our reservoirs and groundwater sources recover.”
“Looking ahead, we do need people to continue to be mindful about how much water they use so we can protect our water resources and help us meet demand across the spring and summer months this year.”
Through its Water Resources Management Plan, which is consulted on, and then approved by Defra, the drinking water company sets out how it will provide a reliable and resilient supply of drinking water during the next 50 years.
This considers the need for new infrastructure, which may include new storage reservoirs, desalination plants, water recycling schemes and strategic transfers from other regions.
Officials say South East Water has been working in partnership with farmers to improve the quality and quantity of water at its source by planting cover crops or installing rainwater harvesting systems.
South East Water says it is continuing to work hard to fix leaks on its network to meet its leakage reduction targets. In the last year, the company found and fixed more than 18,000 leaks on its network and a further 6,000 customer-side leaks. This is 12 per cent more than in the previous year, according to figures.
