Hosepipe ban looms if the rains do not come - snow has not helped

The company which supplies water to Uckfield has warned of the possibility of a summer sprinkler and hosepie ban.

South East Water warned the recent snow and the freezing temperatures are not helping to refill its Sussex reservoirs in time for the expected spring and summer demand.

January saw around 50 per cent of the long term average rainfall that you would expect to see in the month.

This has seen the refilling of Ardingly, north of Haywards Heath, in West Sussex, which picked up in December, slow down, and the reservoir is now standing at around 42% full.

Arlington Reservoir near Hailsham is faring better, and is now at about 75 per cent because there have been high flows of water in the adjacent River Cuckmere, from which water is directly abstracted, which has helped fill the reservoir more quickly.

South East Water is also concerned its underground aquifers in Sussex and Kent are still showing no real signs of re-filling, while some are approaching “severe” status in terms of levels.

More than three-quarters of the region’s drinking water comes from aquifers which are filled by rain which runs through porous ground such as chalk and limestone.

These natural underground water-bearing rocks act like a sponge to absorb rainwater which has percolated its way down through the soil over many weeks and months and take much longer to refill than rivers and reservoirs.

Lee Dance, Head of Water Resources and Environmental at South East Water, said: “The snow which fell at the start of February will help a bit once it has thawed, but approximately one foot of snow only produces about one inch of water, so it won’t make as much of an impact as you would think. “The frozen ground also makes it harder for the water to soak into the underground aquifers which also store our water.

“In the absence of any prolonged periods of rainfall to bring all our water resources – both reservoirs and underground aquifers - back to normal for this time of year, we are now having to face the prospect of further measures this spring and summer to protect public water supplies.

“We cannot rule out the possibility that we may have to ask for further special powers to abstract more water than we usually do from rivers, and also restrict customers’ non-essential use of water with sprinklers and hosepipes.”

South East Water is following its Drought Plan, which includes, increasing efforts to find and fix leaks in the Sussex and West Kent area, carrying out maintenance at its water treatment works to ensure they work as efficiently as possible and re-routing water around its network of pipes from areas with more water available to allow the reservoirs to recover.

Mr Dance added: “Our customers are continuing to play their part and we are greatly encouraged by the fantastic response we’ve had to our public appeals to use water wisely, and not waste it, and helping us by reporting any leaks they spot.

“We would encourage our customers to think about preparing for a dry summer, by installing water butts to collect any rain that does fall and making sure any dripping taps are fixed.”