Anglian Water is urging customers in Colchester, Mersea Island and the surrounding areas to restrict their water usage urgently to prevent low pressure and loss of water.
Anglian Water is urging customers in Colchester, Mersea Island and the surrounding areas to restrict their water usage urgently to prevent low pressure and loss of water.
The water company is asking customers to restrict their usage to essential use only - like drinking, cooking and washing - while the warm weather continues.
The hot weather combined with many people taking staycations at holiday resorts in the area has meant the water company pumped an additional 20% more water to Colchester and the surrounding villages this weekend. As temperatures soar this week demand for water remains high.
Director of Water Services for Anglian Water, Paul Valleley said:
“We have seen unprecedented demand on our water supplies over the last few days and specifically in and around Colchester. Our teams are working tirelessly to keep taps running but our network is under a huge amount of pressure.
“Following a wet winter, there’s plenty of water in our boreholes and reservoirs but the challenge is getting it through the pipes quickly enough when everyone is asking for it at the same time. It’s a bit like when all the taps in your house are turned on at the same time – inevitably, pressure to some taps drops.
“With temperatures set to stay around 30 degrees for the early part of this week, and more people visiting holiday UK resorts on staycations rather than going aboard this year, we could well see problems with water pressure again.
“To prevent this happening, we need customers to think very carefully when using their water over the next couple of days if we want to avoid interruptions to their water supply
Anglian Water is specifically asking people not to wash cars, fill paddling pools or water the garden at the moment. Customers can also help by taking shorter showers, turning off the tap while brushing their teeth, and ensuring they have a full load before using the washing machine or dishwasher.
The water company provides over four million customers with drinking water across the East of England, supplying on average a billion litres of water a day to homes and businesses.
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