KEEP SAVING WATER

All water companies saw demand for water in June down on last year and hope that this means that water saving messages are sinking in.

But the summer holidays are one of the peak times for demand on water and it is important that we all work together to beat the drought.

Howard Davidson, Environment Agency Regional Director for Southern Region said:

"It's really encouraging to see that demand for water is down. June was a hot and dry month and we would normally have expected to see water use soar.

"It seems that people are being restrained in their use of water and this all helps reduce the amount we need to take out of the environment and ensure that there is enough for later in the year.

"We've still got most of the summer to go and it looks as though it's going to be a hot one. We all need to save water wherever we can and there is always more that we can do. Although reservoirs in the region are looking healthy at the moment, they don't paint an accurate picture of our water resources situation. 70 per cent of our water comes from under the ground. What we can't see from the surface is that many of these supplies are very low."

Barrie Clarke from Water UK which represents the water companies said:

"We've been working hard to keep customers up to date on the drought so it's really good that people are using less water. There aren't any 'magic' solutions to a drought this serious '“ we all have a part to play in making our scarce water go further at home and at work."

In June, people in the south east saved more than 9,500 million litres of water . That's more than 300million litres every day '“ twice as much as is currently flowing through the River Medway at Teston (just upstream of Maidstone).

The same water saving tips still apply:

'¢ Turn off the tap while brushing teeth. If everyone in the south east did this, we would save 380million litres every day

'¢ Take showers instead of baths

'¢ Using washing up water on the garden

'¢ Fit a water saving device in the toilet cistern

'¢ Repair dripping taps

'¢ Wash the car with a bucket and sponge '“ or not at all

'¢ Only use washing machines and dishwashers with a full load.