Water firms bathe in summer sun

Suppliers want people to enjoy water wisely

Scorching temperatures reach record levels across England in August, following weeks of dry weather.

How are the water companies managing?

Providers reported a huge demand on supplies during the hot spell with daily increases of more than 100 million litres in some areas.

But most water providers say they enjoyed the sunshine as much as their customers with reservoir supplies intact.

Cara Hall, a spokeswoman for Northumbrian Water, said: "We have not had any problems this summer and do not envisage any at all in the coming weeks or months.

"We have an abundance of water in our supply area."

Others admitted water stocks were down on last year.

Ian Drury, spokesperson for Wessex Water, said: "The reservoir storage at the moment is 49% full, against 79% this time last year and 37% this time in 1995 when we had another really hot summer.

"This is not dangerously low, and ground levels are healthy for the time of year.

"It is dry, but it has followed a wet winter."

The problem was actually getting the water through the pipes fast enough to meet demands at certain times of day Penny Hodge, Southern Water

Penny Hodge, press officer for Southern Water, said during the heatwave in August demand increased from a daily average of 600 million litres to 737 million litres.

She said this was equivalent to supplying an extra 850,000 people a day.

"It wasn't a problem of resources - there was always enough water - the problem was actually getting the water through the pipes fast enough to meet demands at certain times of day, " she said.

This year's lower rainfall compared with 2002 has not helped the situation according to the firms.

Jeremy Williams, spokesperson for Bristol Water, said: "In August, we had about a quarter of the water fall we expected and our reservoirs are now 60% full, which is 15% less than last year.

"Levels are dropping fast. If the hot weather continues for any length of time and into autumn and winter it could be a problem next summer."

However, the suppliers have been quick to point to the scarcity of hose pipe bans in recent years, with some boasting being free of them for up to 13 years.

Kate Cox, from Severn Trent Water, admitted much of the success was due to lessons learned during the last drought in 1995, when bans were imposed.

Suppliers reported peak demand between 1700 BST and 1900 BST

"We had a lot of problems back then, but we learned lots of lessons.

"We had to upgrade our system and as a result we can move water around in our grid more efficiently, pumping it to where it is needed," she said.

Yorkshire Water said it had spent about £1m a day improving its clean and waste water services since 1995.

Customers have helped too. Suppliers say they are not draining resources and are becoming more environmentally aware.

A spokeswoman for Anglian Water said: "We are asking our customers 'please don't waste water and use water responsibly, don't leave hosepipes on'."

Essex and Suffolk Water reported that demand had slightly fallen in September and said it expected reservoirs to fill up later in the autumn.

But some providers are warning that summers could become even more challenging to their supplies because of global warming and population increases.

Andrew Boyd, a spokesman for Thames Water, said: "During the summer we did remind users to watch their water consumption.

"That is more of a long-term thing as climate change is definitely having an effect and the population in the region is increasing.

"By about 2015 it is predicted there will be another 7,000 people living here."