A lot of work goes into ensuring the water network can keep running. Our teams monitor the network around the clock, all through the year. They have to monitor factors like water pressure, equipment performance and water resources, making constant adjustments to maintain the supply.
This summer's prolonged hot, dry weather has made managing the network especially challenging. Head of Operations Andy Shorey explains how the teams have coped with the drought.
How has drought impacted the water network?
When it's hot, we see increased customer demand for water. This includes both households and business customers as people might drink more, water gardens, clean vehicles, fill paddling pools and so on.
At times, we've been producing 35 million litres more water a day than usual to cope with this demand. All this extra water moving through the network increases pressure within the water mains, which brings more challenges like increased risk of bursts.
To make sure we can supply customers, we've had to transfer water between areas daily to even out resource where one place might have lots in store and another had less in storage. Our teams have worked really hard and put in long hours to keep things running smoothly.
Supporting emergency services to fight wildfires
Sadly, our region saw wildfires during the drought. A fire in the New Forest saw an area the size of 140 football pitches destroyed by the flames. The Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire Services used 85 megalitres of water to tackle this vast fire, that’s equivalent to approximately 34 Olympic swimming pools worth of water.
We worked closely with the emergency services to ensure water was available for firefighting. Wherever possible, we made use of local water sources to reduce pressure on drinking water supplies.
Have there been more leaks due to the drought?
We have had more leaks than usual, just when we want them least. As the ground continues to dry out, it shrinks and this causes movement that presses on our water mains. On top of this, increased demand for water means there's higher pressure in the mains, which also makes leaks more likely.
Fixing these extra leaks is another challenge we've been facing over the summer.
How do we monitor water resources?
We monitor our resources continually, 24/7. In the summer, we have a daily management meeting where we look at data from our advanced telemetry systems that monitor the weather, river flows and levels, groundwater levels and local area demand.
We take all this information into account when making decisions about how to supply customers and optimise resources.
What is it like for frontline workers in the heat?
It's really hard to do a physical job like fixing a leak when it's above 30°C. The safety of our teams is always paramount and we do all we can to help them stay healthy and manage risk, while still doing the important work of fixing leaks.
You can help by using water wisely
We work really hard to ensure we supply fresh, clean drinking water that meets customer demand, even with the challenges we've had this summer. This work all goes on behind the scenes and we're proud of the service we provide.
However, it's been a long hot summer and it will take some time for resources to be replaced by rain. The ground is so dry that what rain we get will be absorbed by the soil to begin with, so even if it's rained, this doesn't mean we have access to more resource.
If you can use a little bit less water, it reduces pressure on the network and helps the area recover from drought. See our water-saving tips pages for ideas on how to use less water.