Essex & Suffolk Water has released a new helpful and easy-to-read infographic to help customers understand the links between water demand and supply.
Following last year’s exceptionally warm and dry year, it has taken longer than normal for reservoirs, broads and the local environment across Essex and Suffolk to recover.
Storage levels across the Hanningfield and Abberton reservoirs are currently at 93% combined, which is average for this time of year so the water company is confident levels are at a healthy position ahead of summer.
Now, the company has released a new infographic across its social media platforms and website, which allows residents to monitor key information that impacts on water supply like rainfall, reservoir levels, customer demand and leakage stats.
By keeping customers updated on the information monthly, people will be able to see how water saving efforts across the operating areas can impact reservoir levels.
Katie Davis, Head of Water Service Planning, said: “We would like our customers to understand the link between water resources, particularly rainfall and the untreated or raw water we have stored, and water demand, which includes leaks and the amount of water our customers use.
“Although we managed to avoid a hosepipe ban last year, it was only through the careful management of our water supplies by our skilled teams, and thanks to the water saving efforts of the customers in our regions.
“By sharing these four key statistics, we hope customers will have a better understanding of why we ask them to use water wisely.”
The infographic shows:
Rainfall
Last year the dry period started in March, so Essex & Suffolk Water have already been closely monitoring the recent rainfall levels, the impacts on reservoirs, and on customer consumption.
Rainfall helps environments to flourish, refills reservoirs and replenishes groundwater levels. This is important because reservoirs collect and store 'raw water', ready for the treatment works to process and make drinkable. The more it rains, the more raw water there is.
Essex is relatively flat, so when it rains, there is limited natural run-off into the reservoirs and only small gains from rain falling directly onto the reservoir itself. Most water is pumped in from nearby rivers.
Reservoir levels
This is important because the reservoirs are the main storage for ‘raw water’.
In summer, when the weather is hot and dry, the teams at Essex & Suffolk Water work incredibly hard to make sure the water in reservoirs across the region is carefully managed, to meet customer demand and support the environment.
It’s a balancing act that the teams are equipped for, but it becomes more challenging each year with climate change.
Leakage
The bar chart shows the overall number of leak repairs the company carry out on a monthly basis, revealing the number of completed jobs so far this year.
This includes emergency and planned repairs, and is important because it helps to make sure as much treated water as possible reaches our customers. The less leaks we have, the less water has to taken from the environment and treated to meet our customers’ needs.
The company performs well in leakage – but the teams can only respond to the leaks that they know about, which is why customers are asked to report any leaks they see. There are also specialist teams of analysts and leakage technicians who work tirelessly every day seeking out the majority of leaks which aren't visible.
If you spot a leak, please report it online at: Report Water Problems Or Water Wastage
Demand
There are certain days of the week when there is more demand for water than others.
Sunday is the day of the week when customers typically use more water, perhaps because they will do their laundry, wash their car, do some gardening, cook a roast dinner with lots of dishes, or maybe enjoy a soak in the bath.
The weather also has a huge impact on demand, because when it is hot, people use water to stay cool and hydrated.
Millions of litres are used across our region every day, but simple water savings habits can bring this figure down.
Customers can find out their household usage with the water calculator on the Essex & Suffolk Water website, or by checking their latest bill, or app for those with a smart meter. Visit: How Much Water Are You Using With Our Water Energy Calculator