Two weeks after a temporary usage ban was announced across Essex & Suffolk Water’s operational areas, the company has been battling a record number of leaks.
The water company, which has the lowest levels of leakage in the country, has had additional teams out finding and fixing leaks and bursts since the restrictions came into force on Monday 3 August.
So far this year, teams have repaired more than 4,150 leaks and bursts across Essex and Suffolk and the company is investing £66 million between 2025 and 2030 to strengthen the resilience of its networks.
Why do leaks happen in dry weather?
During July and August, there have been five consecutive heatwaves, and temperatures have soared to highs of 36 degrees in some parts of East Anglia.
With a lack of rain for several months, the ground dries out and results in significant ground movement, which means that additional pressure is put on underground pipework. Because of this, joints and fittings can become loose, and pipes can crack.
This is not just something that has been seen in Essex and Suffolk although the clay soil in parts of the region is particularly susceptible.
In fact, all over the country, there has been an increase in the number of leaks due to the drought conditions.
Finding leaks
Teams from across Essex & Suffolk Water are working tirelessly around the clock to find, prioritise and fix leaks following the introduction of the temporary use ban.
Leaks are found in several different ways.
Some are reported by customers – through the online leakage portal, through customer telephone lines or via social media. Information provided by customers is really helpful and each reported leak is visited and assessed to ensure work is prioritised effectively.
Behind the scenes, dedicated leakage analysts continually monitor network data, including changes in flows and pressures, to identify areas where water may be escaping underground, unseen at the surface.
Other times, teams inside the Regional Control Centre monitor the network as a whole using technology like sensors and will notice a change in trends to water demand – showing that there is an unexpected increase in water flows within a certain area or an unusual drop in treated water reservoir levels; both of these prompt an investigation as they suggest a burst has occurred.
Teams of leakage technicians also proactively patrol high-risk areas, so that leaks can be spotted and fixed as quickly as possible.
Satellite technology is also used to help identify potential leakage across larger and more rural areas, allowing technicians to target their investigations more effectively.
Prioritising leaks and bursts
When leaks and bursts happen, teams look at which repairs take priority by considering factors such as customer impact, traffic management and the estimated volume of water being lost.
This helps to ensure that teams are directed at the repairs that can best protect customer supplies.
For example, if you had a leaky kitchen tap and a split in your water storage tank, you would fix the tank ahead of the tap, as it could flood your house.
All water is important, and the water company work hard to keep as much of it in the network as possible and available for customers, but in extreme weather, decisions have to be made on what jobs need to be completed first and others are attended later than the normal level of service.
Some require a more immediate response than others.
When smaller leaks are reported via the online leakage portal, customers are able to see when the repair is planned and when teams are due to attend.
Fixing leaks
When the teams arrive on site, they get to work straight away on repairing the leak or burst. If the burst is under or near a road, the first activity is to create a safe working area including putting traffic management and barriers in place.
Sometimes when repairing pipework, the water main needs to be isolated to reduce the amount of water coming from the pipe, which can sometimes reduce the pressure of customer supplies as the repair takes place, or briefly interrupt supply entirely.
Repair crews then dig down to the burst pipe, usually with machinery for speed, but sometimes by hand if other utilities are nearby, into the hard, difficult ground conditions.
Once repairs are completed, the hole is backfilled and the road surface re-laid. It is sometimes the case that traffic management needs to remain in place on completed works until the new surface is dry.
Essex & Suffolk Water has a large number of teams who work 24/7 to carry out repairs on leaks.
Between 1 January and 18 August 2026, teams repaired more than 4,150 leaks and bursts across Essex and Suffolk.
Working to find and fix leaks is a focus all year round not just in extreme weather, Essex & Suffolk Water is one of the UK's leading performers on leakage, reducing leakage by the equivalent of 3.1 million litres of water per day during 2025/26.
Not all leaks are visible
While some leaks and bursts can appear obvious, there are also invisible leaks nestled under the ground that are much harder to spot. Some can remain hidden underground without any obvious signs at the surface. In fact, around 22% of leaks and bursts recently investigated by Essex & Suffolk Water were invisible and only detected by specialist teams.
Much of this work takes place behind the scenes, and sometimes overnight, meaning customers may never see the activity involved in finding them.
What else is being done?
There has not been a temporary use ban across Essex and Suffolk since 1997, and this is due in part to the £150 million investment in the expansion of Abberton Reservoir, a project which completed in 2015 and increased water storage for Essex by 15 billion litres.
This was a huge investment, and around £66m more will be used to improve resilience between 2025 and 2030 – including a number of pipe replacement schemes.
A word from ESW’s Water Director
Kieran Ingram, Water Director, said: “We are industry-leading in terms of our leakage performance, but know that we, as well as the rest of our sector, still need to improve for our customers.
“We’ve had a lot of feedback from customers and the public about fixing leaks and we want our customers to know that this is our focus.
“All of our teams, including additional temporary teams, are working hard to find and fix leaks around the clock.
“Our specialist teams work tirelessly 24/7 seeking out leaks, which a technician assesses, allowing us to prioritise repairs to make sure we're protecting as much of our network, and supply to customers, as possible.”
“Repairs are not always a quick process as sometimes the leak or burst can be tricky to fix, but we try to work as quickly as possible, safely, with as little inconvenience to customers, residents and drivers as possible.”
The temporary use ban is still in force across Essex & Suffolk Water’s operating areas and has been for two full weeks now. Customers have helped reduce household water use since the ban came in but more reductions are necessary particularly as the dry weather is forecast to continue into the autumn.
For full details on the Temporary Use Ban visit - Temporary Use Ban
Or, if you spot a leak, please report it here – www.eswater.co.uk/report