The water shortage in the south-east of England
Following two consecutive exceptionally dry winters, seven water companies in London and the South East of England today bring into force a hosepipe ban as the first in what may be a series of measures designed to reduce demand for water when the supply situation is so critical. As well as being affected by the ban as a consumer, I now have a professional interest in the drought facing this part of the country since I have just been appointed Chair of the Customer Challenge Group at South East Water.
Even in normal times, there is a difficult situation in this part of the country for the water sector because the east and south of England have less rain than the west and north but population growth is higher in the east and the south. However, these are not normal times. We are experiencing the worst drought conditions since 1976. Earlier this week, I visited Water UK – the industry body representing the water sect or – and they are starting to think the unthinkable: suppose we have a third consecutive dry winter?
BBC online has examined eight possible solutions here.
Meanwhile water companies have a responsibility to minimise leakage. You can check out the performance of each company in this respect here.