Business & Technology
Thames Water sees demand soar amid recent heatwave
Thames Water has reported a sharp rise in water use across its network, with household consumption up by an average of 30 per cent as temperatures surpassed 30C.
In London, daily demand exceeded 2.2 billion litres from Wednesday to Friday, while the Thames Valley and Home Counties recorded more than 750 million litres per day over the same period.
Andrew Tucker, water demand reduction manager at Thames Water, said: “We saw a significant rise in demand across our region last week, particularly for outdoor water use.
“Demand increased so sharply in some areas that people were using water faster than we could produce and move it through our network.
“We’d like to thank customers who played their part by reducing usage during this extreme weather, helping to keep supplies flowing while staying hydrated and safe.”
The company highlighted exceptionally high demand in Slough, Oxford, Swindon, Aylesbury, and Wickham, prompting calls for customers to use water only for essential purposes until demand eased.
Mr Tucker said: “All our water is drinking-quality and comes from local sources, so small changes, such as using a watering can, reusing water and delaying non-essential outdoor jobs, can reduce what we need to take from the environment.
“We are asking customers to avoid using hosepipes and sprinklers on lawns and gardens so that supplies can be maintained for everyone during periods of exceptionally high demand.”
The hot, dry weather also increased the risk of leaks, as shifting ground conditions put additional strain on pipes.
Thames Water crews worked around the clock to keep water flowing, repairing hundreds of leaks each week and closely monitoring the network to maintain supply.
Mr Tucker said: “Our teams are working around the clock to keep water moving, fix leaks and maintain supplies.
“We’re also delivering our biggest infrastructure upgrade in 150 years and rolling out smart meters to help customers spot leaks and manage their water use.”
Smart meters have already helped the company identify more than 135,000 leaks on customer properties.
A recent survey commissioned by Thames Water found that nearly one in 10 people use a lawn sprinkler during the summer months, despite each sprinkler using up to 166 litres of water every 10 minutes.
The company is urging customers to take simple steps to reduce usage during future heatwaves, such as delaying garden watering until evening, reusing paddling pool water for plants, and using watering cans instead of hoses.
Thames Water serves around 16 million customers and supplies 2.7 billion litres of drinking water each day across London and the Thames Valley.
Thames Valley-based Grundon was recognised for its health and safety performance throughout 2025, with the award presented by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).
Reg Hodson, head of SHEQ at Grundon, said: “We are delighted to receive the RoSPA Gold Award once again.
“This achievement is a testament to the commitment and professionalism of our employees, who put safety at the heart of everything they do.
“Maintaining the highest standards of health, safety and wellbeing is fundamental to our business.
“This recognition reflects the dedication of our teams across the company and our ongoing commitment to creating safe and healthy environments for our employees, customers, contractors and the wider community.”
The RoSPA Awards, now in their 70th year, have grown to become the world’s largest and most prestigious health and safety awards programme.
Originally established as a small event to recognise organisations prioritising worker safety in the UK, the programme has expanded to attract around 2,000 entries from nearly 60 countries in 2026.
Grundon’s award was presented at a ceremony held on June 30.
RoSPA Gold Award winners are recognised for achieving a ‘very high level of performance,’ according to the organisation.
Winners also demonstrate strong risk management practices and ‘well-developed occupational health and safety management systems’.
Britwell Salome Farm Shop, on Red Lion Farm in Watlington, was given a one star rating by South Oxfordshire District Council environmental health officers following a routine visit.
One key problem on the day was the management of food safety, which was deemed to require “major improvement”.
One category noted as being “generally satisfactory”, however, was the cleanliness and condition of both the facilities and building.
Meanwhile hygienic food handling was deemed as “improvement necessary”.
The farm shop was previously handed a five out of five rating in July 2024.
Last month Britwell Salome Farm Shop was named ‘local food and drink champions’ for the south east in the Countryside Alliance Awards 2026.
Ms Mearns said her family, including herself, her husband and their three children, set up at Red Lion Farm in 1993 and took over the chilled unit in the barn when it became vacant in 2008, to begin selling the farm’s meat, including pork, beef and lamb, directly to customers, from field to fork.
The shop also stocks a large selection of other locally produced food, from seasonal fruit and veg from a farm in Stanton St John to local honey from the village, jams and preserves which raise money for Oxford homeless charity Porch, as well as bread baked fresh in Thame.
Britwell Salome Farm Shop was approached for a comment.
The Henley Distillery was slapped with a two-out-of-five food hygiene rating after an inspection by environmental health inspectors in January this year.
Although inspectors deemed the hygienic food handling and management of food safety ‘generally satisfactory’, they deemed the cleanliness and condition of the facilities and building needing necessary improvement.
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This includes having appropriate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control to enable good food hygiene.
The company is no stranger to poor food hygiene ratings, given a one-out-of-five food hygiene rating in 2024, and another one in 2025.
Speaking to the Oxford Mail in 2024 the founder and master distiller Jacob Wilson said the low score was unfair and he was shocked by the rating.
He said: ““Unfortunately due to the diverse nature of businesses in South Oxfordshire, they do not have specialists in each field to run their audits which meant our auditor had never even set foot in a distillery before visiting us.”
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The Henley Distillery at Hampstead Farm was opened in 2021 and produces gin and rum in the historic barn in the countryside.
Henley Festival, which is also sponsored by champagne brand Moet and Chandon, is currently taking place, kicking off on Wednesday, July 8 and finishing on Sunday, July 12.
Recognised with awards such as the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Group’s SME Business of the Year, the business is a popular tourist attraction with distillery experiences available.
The Henley Distillery has been approached for comment.
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