NI Water to introduce hosepipe ban

NI Water is set to introduce a hosepipe ban as temperatures continue to rise during the current heatwave.

The ban will prohibit the watering of private gardens and washing private motor cars and the company said it will take effect from the weekend.

In the meantime, NI Water’s chief executive, Sara Venning, has appealed to customers to stop all non-essential water use, which she said is causing the current demand to exceed its supply capacity.

“In recent days our treatment works have been operating at near maximum levels with over 700 million litres of water being put into the network which is some 25% more than is normal for this time of the year,” said Venning.

“Despite these steps, demand continues to outstrip supply,” she added.

“It would be our intention to introduce a formal hose pipe ban in an effort to protect the public against the increased threat of supply interruptions.

“That process however requires some time to take effect and in the meantime, it is essential that we all work together to reduce the unprecedented levels of demand on our network,” she added.

Temperatures have reached at least 30 degrees in many parts of the UK this week and are set to last into next week.

Severn Trent said it has put an extra 300 million litres of water into its pipes, but demand is still increasing as the heatwave continues.

“We need people to think about how they’re using water – using a sprinkler might green up your lawn but that water would be better used for drinking or washing,” said Severn Trent’s water efficiency expert, Doug Clarke.

“We’re going to continue producing as much water as we can – and yesterday (27 June) we produced a whopping 300 million more litres than we’d normally expect to – but our pipes are can only carry so much water. And that’s why we just need people to think long and hard about their water usage while this hot weather continues.”

In the North West, United Utilities said the heatwave is setting new records for water consumption, with the region’s 3 million households and 200,000 businesses tapping into 1,958 million litres yesterday, 200 million litres more than usual.

“While our reservoirs are still more than three quarters full, as you’d expect, all this activity means we are sensibly putting well-rehearsed procedures in place to preserve water wherever we can and we would encourage others to do the same by reducing waste. It’s easy to do and could even save energy and money,” said United Utilities’ director of water and scientific services, Dr Martin Padley.