No hosepipe ban for North East, says water company

Northumbrian Water says it has no plans for hosepipe ban in the North East as this summer's warm and dry weather continues.
A hosepipe.A hosepipe.
A hosepipe.

The water company, which provides drinking and waste water services to 2.7 million people in the major population centres of Tyneside, Wearside and Teesside as well as the large rural areas of Northumberland and County Durham, is asking its customers to do as much as they can to save water around the home and garden.

The organisation says it is continuing to monitor supplies closely, and has put additional resources in place to manage the increase in demand, which has been consistently at 20% above expected levels for this time of year.

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Despite this the company has no plans to implement a hosepipe ban in its supply area.

United Utilities said a temporary ban affecting seven million people in the North West from 5 August would "safeguard essential supplies".

It said reservoir levels were already low and that hot weather was forecast for the rest of July.

Other water companies across England said they had adequate supplies and had no plans to impose similar bans.

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Water levels remain healthy at the 22 reservoirs operated by Northumbrian Water, ranging in size from the largest man-made reservoir in north-west Europe, Kielder Water, to smaller sites like Hisehope and Smiddy Shaw located on Muggleswick Common in County Durham.

Martin Lunn, Head of Technical Strategy for Northumbrian Water said: “Despite the increase in demand we have seen there are no plans to implement a hosepipe ban for our supply area.

“An extra 120 mega litres per day is being added to the Northumbrian Water network at present on average – that’s the equivalent of an Olympic-sized swimming pool every 30 minutes.

“Our people are working 24/7 shifts to ensure we can produce and deliver these increased volumes, and supplies are being monitored constantly.

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“We’re asking customers to help us out by thinking about how they can save water around the home and garden so that supplies last as long as possible.

"Even small changes like not leaving taps running and not watering your lawns can make a big difference.

"We’d like to thank everyone for doing their bit to save water at this time.”

Northumbrian Water is also encouraging customers to keep an eye out for burst pipes and leaks across the region caused by the high temperatures.

Warmer weather causes ground movement which can lead to burst pipes. To get these fixed as quickly possible and avoid water being wasted customers can report them on the leak line - 0800 393 084.