Severn Trent Meets Record Water Demand During Heatwave

Severn Trent recorded its highest level of water demand on record on Saturday. The Bbc reported that the utility, which supplies more than eight million people in England and Wales including 4.8 million homes and businesses in the Midlands, said demand outstripped previous records set during the 2022 drought and the Covid pandemic.

Over the last few days demand reached almost 2.4 billion litres per day, an extra 400 million litres above usual daily levels.

The Bbc reported that this volume equals the amount needed to serve two million people or 700 million pints. Water use stayed elevated for longer each day and into the night during the second heatwave of the summer. Severn Trent partially attributed the increase to greater use for watering gardens and filling paddling pools.

A spokesperson said the company's teams were treating more water, moving supplies across the region and fixing leaks at record levels but added that customers' help was also required. The spokesperson listed steps customers could take, including using a watering can instead of a sprinkler, letting lawns recover naturally, reusing paddling pool water on plants and running full loads in washing machines and dishwashers.

The spokesperson stated that with a few small changes customers could help keep water flowing this summer.