How the water companies are managing the drought
Information from individual water companies and links to government and regulators with overall responsibility for managing drought and water resources
For some parts of the country, the past year has seen an exceptional, and in some cases almost unprecedented, lack of rain. The Environment Agency has declared drought conditions in the East and South East of the country and in parts of Yorkshire; we, as water companies, have to make sure that we are making the best use of our resources to ensure supplies for our customers.
Company measures - working with customers
For that reason, seven companies – Anglian Water, South East Water, Southern Water, Sutton and East Surrey Water, Thames Water, Veolia Central and Veolia South East – now have in place restrictions on non-essential water use for domestic customers. Yorkshire Water is monitoring the situation. This is part of plans that all companies have put in place over the years to make sure water is being used wisely when there is low rainfaril for a sustained period.
Who is affected and how?
We have put these pages together to help customers understand who is affected, which parts of the country have restrictions in place and what this means if, for example, you’re watering your garden or washing your car.
Of course, the lack of rain is not a UK-wide problem, and many customers across the country will not face restrictions at all.
These pages will give you:
• an indication of the areas that are affected
• links to water companies’ websites
• information on why there are restrictions, measures to reduce leakage, whether a national water grid will help
• other information from the organisations that we are working with.
We completely understand that when we are asking customers to restrict their use of water, those customers would find it completely unacceptable if companies in drought-affected areas were to miss their leakage targets. We work very hard to find and fix leaks.
As an industry we are working closely with the government, with environmental groups, farmers, people who run garden centres and many others to make sure you have the best information we can give you.
Get the facts on the drought
Consumption, underground supplies, climate impacts, rainfall replenishment...
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Water companies
Chief executive statements
Water restrictions and resources management
Information from individual water companies
Anglian Water
National picture
Environment Agency
National responsibility for environmental management of the drought
Defra
Government department with overall responsibility for water resources in England
Met Office
Responsibile for weather forecasting and rainfall monitoring
Natural England
Working with farmers in times of drought
Waterwise
Water industry funded NGO focused on reducing consumption and promoting water efficiency
