Severn Trent sends millions of advice texts on saving water
Severn Trent has sent out millions of texts to its customers urging them to use water wisely in the hot weather.
It has also posted water saving tips on its website as it continues to monitor levels at its reservoirs.
The company, which provides services for a huge area including the West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire, tells customers in the text: “We have not had any decent rain and have experienced the driest July in over a century.
"With low rainfall and the sunshine here to stay, please stay hydrated and use water wisely.”
Severn Trent says the normal usage of water per day per person is around 132 litres.
But during hot weather, that normally increases to 186 litres.
The extra demand for water can cause supply issues as well as deplete stocks in reservoirs, which are way below normal for the time of year but not yet at a level that requires a hosepipe ban.
Overall levels are currently around 58 per cent, which compares to 80 per cent in June. The company appealed to people to take sensible steps to save water during the heatwave.
Water saving measures include:
Have a shower rather than a bath to save water – taking 30 seconds off your shower will save five litres
Use a bucket and sponge rather than a hose to clean your car
Look for leaking loos and get them fixed
Turn off taps when not in use
When it’s time to empty the paddling pool use the water to water your plants
Water plants in the evening with a watering can – it’ll be more effective as less water will evaporate
Don’t worry about watering the grass – it’ll soon bounce back when it rains.
A spokesman said: “The heatwave combined with a very dry spring, means reservoir levels are lower than we would like them to be at this time of year.
"It can take 12 hours to treat and pump water out to our customers, so when people are using more water to do things like water their gardens or fill paddling pools, the challenge can be to get that clean, treated water out to homes quick enough – this can sometimes cause low pressure problems.
"Our teams are working around the clock, using tankers to pump an extra 300 million litres into the network to keep water flowing during increased demand.”
The spokesman added: “To keep water flowing to our communities during the heatwave, it is important that everyone continues to be mindful of their non-essential water use, so you and your neighbours have plenty of water for all the essentials.”
