Good morning,
I’m writing to let you know that we have today lifted hosepipe restrictions in Kent and Sussex.
I’d like to thank all our customers for following the restrictions which have been in place since July last year. I appreciate the restrictions have impacted the way people use water and how they carry out their daily tasks.
Why are we lifting them now?
We’re able to now lift the restrictions because the levels in our reservoirs and our underground water sources are back to normal, following the rain that we’ve had over winter.
What does this mean?
While we’re lifting the restrictions, we still need to work together to use water wisely as a community.
We know weather has a massive impact on water resources and long range forecasts are uncertain for what the weather will be like later in the year.
So, by making simple changes, we can help protect our water resources, meet demand across spring and summer this year and our customers may be able to save some money too.
Why were the restrictions in place for so long?
Despite the recent wet weather, last year England experienced the driest spring since 1893, and the hottest summer on record, with four separate heatwaves. Our water resources felt the impact of this.
Of our water resources, surface reservoirs were first to be impacted and then gradually groundwater levels became low. This is what usually happens when droughts develop. Then when the rain returns it’s the same to get back to normal. Reservoirs are likely to fill more quickly from higher river flows, while groundwater takes much longer to recharge as water needs to filter deep down into the aquifer (underground layers of rock that hold water).
Knowing this, we took a cautious approach as set out in our Drought Plan and closely monitored all water resources to make sure they recovered. This is why we are only able to remove restrictions now.