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.