To help support the emergency services tackling major wildfires across the South, maintain supplies for customers, and protect the environment, Bournemouth Water is asking customers to use water wisely by making small water-saving changes at home.
The recent wildfires seen across the region serve as a stark reminder of the growing impact prolonged hot, dry weather is having on our environment. The recent fire in the New Forest has now been contained but an area equivalent to the size of around 140 football pitches was destroyed by the blaze. 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.
Even though most wildfires are caused by human activity, the prolonged dry weather can impact the environment by making it more susceptible to catching alight.
Recent fires across the region have increased demand significantly, both through firefighting activity and customer demand during the heatwaves.
The fire in the New Forest, and others across the region, come amid drought conditions across large parts of England, with Southern England seeing its driest month ever recorded, in a series dating back to 1836.
Etienne Patterson, Station Manager at Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service, said: "We work closely with water companies across our areas to ensure we use water efficiently at incidents, protecting local supplies, whilst maintaining sufficient levels for our crews to extinguish fires effectively.
Our teams are also trained to prevent contaminated water entering local water sources and adjust training and vehicle cleaning routines in support of temporary usage bans.
Where we can, we make use of local water sources to help tackle fires, this includes water from the Solent at the Headon Warren fire on the Isle of Wight, and water from Hightown Lake at the ongoing New Forest wildfire.
In relation to the recent incident at Picket Post, we’d like to thank the team at Bournemouth Water for their swift and decisive response in support of our water supply needs and for deploying an onsite technician to help resolve some early challenges."
The sustained heatwave and recent wildfires has put pressure on parts of the local drinking water network as demand across the region has increased by around 20 million litres of water a day – up to 20% higher than we usually see at this time of year.
Bournemouth Water continues to monitor conditions closely and is encouraging customers to help by using water wisely during the ongoing spell of dry weather to help reduce pressure on the network.
To help maintain supplies Bournemouth Water is asking customers, businesses and visitors to the area to use water wisely until temperatures start to fall.
Richard Stanbrook, Director of Drinking Water Services in Bournemouth, said "Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the recent fires and we would like to thank the firefighters and emergency responders working tirelessly in extremely difficult conditions.
Incidents like this highlight the increasing pressures that prolonged periods of hot, dry weather can place on our natural environment.
Building resilience to these new challenges requires action from all of us, from water companies and environmental organisations through to individual households.
We are working hard to protect our water supplies across the network and we are asking customers to come together and reduce their water usage where possible until temperatures begin to drop."
Customers can help protect water resources by making small changes at home, including:
- Taking shorter showers.
- Turning off the tap while brushing their teeth.
- Only using washing machines and dishwashers with full loads.
- Fixing dripping taps and leaking toilets.
- Collecting rainwater in a water butt to use for gardening.
- Watering plants in the early morning or evening to reduce evaporation.
For more information on how to save water, customers can visit Save water | Bournemouth Water