Archive for category: News

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Due to sustained high temperatures and  near record levels of demand for treated drinking water across Kent, I am writing to update you that South East Water will be introducing a Temporary Use Ban (hosepipe restriction) for all customers in its’ Kent region.

We are doing this to ensure that the company can provide a consistent public water service for all its customers in the county. We will be announcing this publicly at 09:00 on Thursday 25 June. The ban will be legally enforced from 00:01 on Friday, 3 July, however we will be asking that all customers respect the restrictions immediately.

While raw water resources remain in a healthy position due to winter rainfall, demand has breached the triggers in the company’s approved Drought Plan. To safeguard essential supplies for hygiene, drinking and cooking, we are asking customers to follow these restrictions with immediate effect.

The factors that have affected this decision include:

• Unprecedented demand: A sustained heatwave following a dry spring (March to May saw just 36 per cent of normal rainfall) has pushed demand to near record levels.
• Infrastructure at capacity: We have produced an additional 100 million litres of water per day, equivalent to supplying three towns the size of Maidstone. Every available treatment works is operating at maximum capacity.
• Storage depletion: Water is currently being drawn from regional drinking water storage tanks faster than it can physically be treated and refilled.
• Geographic scope: While recent infrastructure upgrades in West Kent have successfully strengthened the Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge networks, this heatwave is impacting storage levels county-wide, requiring a blanket approach across Kent.

In preparation for this latest heatwave, we have taken, and continue to take several operational steps to manage this peak demand period and protect the network including:

• Maximising production: All treatment facilities and water sources were brought to full capacity, and storage tanks were filled to maximum levels ahead of the heatwave.
• Leak management: We have deployed additional field teams to rapidly locate and fix bursts and leaks across the network.
• Network optimisation: We are actively re-routing water through our grid to support the areas facing the highest demand.

Details of what the restrictions mean for our customers can be found on our website. We will communicate this fully through our website, emails, social media and undertake media interviews to ensure all customers are aware of the restrictions, which includes prohibiting the use of hosepipes and sprinklers for:

• Watering private gardens and allotments.
• Washing private motor vehicles, patios, paths, and private boats.
• Filling or maintaining domestic swimming pools, paddling pools, or hot tubs.

We’re going into another heatwave this week and we want to make sure the taps keep flowing for everyone. We need your help to do this.

Please share the messaging below and the images attached, amongst your communities to ensure as many people are aware as possible.

Please use water for essential purposes only: hygiene, drinking and cooking.

Why are we asking you to help?

Right now the demand for water is of course higher due to the weather. Yesterday (Sunday 21 June) the total amount of water we treated and put into the network was 644 million litres, that’s 56 million more than the average for June. It’s likely that figure will rise further with hotter weather forecast for later this week.

We want to be honest with you.

To help meet this demand we have:

• All possible Water Treatment Works operating 24/7
• Increased the teams fixing bursts and leaks to save more water
• Re-routed water around the network
• Tankered in more water
• Filled drinking water storage tanks as much as we can
• Managed pressure across the network

However, when demand is as high as this or higher on consecutive days, we struggle to supply everyone. Those living at the far end of our pipeline network or on higher ground can see their taps run completely dry.

We know we need to improve this and build more resilience into the network to cope with the changing climate and more frequent heatwaves, and we will. Building this infrastructure takes time and it’s not all in place yet.

This means for now we need your help.

Every change you make has a real impact on keeping the taps flowing for your neighbours and local communities.

How you can help

Simple swaps can make a huge difference to help keep the taps flowing for everyone and prevent further measures.

• Pause all hose use
• Only use water for hygiene, drinking and cooking
• Don’t refill paddling pools or hot tubs
• Don’t use a jet washer

How long will this be for?

This is temporary, just while we get through this latest heatwave. The more people who can help, the better for your area – so please spread the word to friends and neighbours!

Thank you!

We understand you are frustrated and we are sincerely sorry, especially to the thousands of customers who experienced real difficulty, distress and hardship when water supplies were interrupted a few weeks ago.

We’re committed to doing better, including how we communicate. That’s why in this email we’ve wanted to be upfront and honest about the current situation.