Britain’s creaking privatised water system is struggling in the heatwave – and suppliers are coming up with “unacceptable” responses.
In Kent, water shortages have been blamed on people needing lots of water in the heat.
South East Water said on Wednesday that some customers would lose supply and urged them to use water for essential purposes only.
Matthew Dean, the head of operations control at South East Water, said: “Extremely high demand for tap water in this very hot weather means our stored water reservoirs are running very low in areas across Kent.
“Yesterday, we pumped 660 million litres of water to customers across our region, which is more than 100 million litres more than the average for a day.
“We are doing everything we can to get water into our reservoirs, but some customers will lose supplies this afternoon.”
The short supply follows other high profile failures, as more than 1,000 customers served by the operator were left without water over the bank holiday weekend, after a pumping station failed.
South East Water chief executive David Hinton quit in May, following criticism after tens of thousands of customers were left without water in November and December, because of a problem with disinfection at a water treatment works.
In January, it was revealed that South East Water’s parent company, HDF (UK) Holdings Limited, was charging the company £3,000 per hour in interest on expensive loans. This meant that, because of compound interest, South East Water went from owing its owners £90m to owing £276m – money that could have been re-invested in infrastructure.
A spokesperson said that the loans did not affect the operating company’s cash flow or profitability.
Global heating is taking its toll on the water supply, with reservoir levels low after one of the driest Aprils on record. There’s unlikely to be any let up, as scientists are predicting that 2027 will be one of the warmest years on record.
The rising temperatures mean that a reliable water supply is all the more vital, but suppliers appear to be unprepared.
In Northamptonshire, several villages were left without water for 48 hours between Monday evening and Thursday morning, after a fault at a pumping station. The water company did not distribute bottled water until 40 hours into the outage.
Local MP Sarah Bool criticised Anglian Water for its “complete lack of clarity” in its communication to residents, adding that the outage was “not acceptable”. A spokesperson said it had started a “thorough review”.
In Cornwall, the Falmouth Packet newspaper reported households struggling to access bottled water and businesses hiring portable toilets at their own expense, as South West Water struggled to supply water during the heatwave.
West Cornwall MP Andrew George said: “South West Water seems unconcerned that this is yet another feather in their cap of shame.”
A spokesperson for South West Water blamed a fault at a pumping station and said, “Increased seasonal demand is putting pressure on the network”. Upgrades to a reservoir will be operational by June, they added.
Feargal Sharkey, a campaigner against privatised water companies, said the recent outage demonstrated that the water supply in southern England “fragile and on the edge of a precipice”.
From Novara Media via This RSS Feed.