News

Water company Severn Trent has released new figures today (MON) showing just how much use of treated water spiked during the recent hot weather, and also how much it fell when the weather got cooler and wetter.The highest day of demand was May 29 when a stunning 2.3bn litres of treated water was used by customers all over the Midlands – which was just over 20% more than just a week before and a new 30-year record for the company.Once the cooler and wetter weather hit though, demand fell again by even more – a massive 22% – and even more quickly as everyone ditched the sprinkler and the pressure washer, and put their paddling pools away.

Since then, and since Severn Trent launched its £1m charity challenge where everyone can earn money for local good causes simply by using less water, we’ve seen some great demand reduction across the region:

• Cheshire 6.3%
• Derbyshire 9.6%
• Leicestershire 9.2%
• Nottinghamshire 10.8%
• Shropshire 7.1%
• Staffordshire 7.7%
• Warwickshire 7.9%
• West Midlands 7.0%
• Worcester & Gloucester 7.1%

And now, with the hot weather back, and longer term forecasts predicting a hot and dry summer, Severn Trent is asking its customers to carry on saving water to be in with a chance of raising that £1m for local charities while also making sure there’s plenty of water to go round.

 The small print of the challenge is, if customers collectively manage to save a daily average of 150 million litres through June, Severn Trent will donate £1 million to charities supporting local communities through COVID-19.

Liv Garfield, Severn Trent CEO, said: “Last month saw the driest May in over 100 years, and that, combined with so many people being at home because of the COVID crisis, meant we saw the highest demand for water we’ve ever had for three days in a row, with the amount of water we produced reaching record levels.

“We decided to launch our charity challenge to encourage people to save water and think about how much they’re using, especially in the garden, so if everyone makes small changes, they could help make a big difference to your favourite charities.

“And, with the weather getting warmer, we wanted to remind everyone about the challenge because there’s still plenty of time to ditch the sprinkler and the pressure washer and earn money for charity.”

Barnardo’s, Crisis, Macmillan Cancer Support and local branches at Age UK and Mind could receive donations to support the Midlands if people put aside water hungry devices.

Hugh Sherriffe, Barnardo’s Regional Director, said: “We are extremely grateful to Severn Trent for supporting Barnardo’s and urge everyone to take part in their charity challenge to save water and help make a difference.  The impact of lockdown on the children, young people and families we work with has been wide reaching so money raised for Barnardo’s from this initiative will help us continue to provide invaluable support to those who need us most”. 

Some of the top ways you can help save water, and make money for a local charity, include:

• Not using the sprinkler every day; lawns are really resilient and will quickly bounce back to green when it rains again;

• Water the plants with a watering can, instead of a hose – this will help save loads of water, and avoids over-watering them;

• Have fun in your garden but keep an eye on how much you’re using the paddling pool – an average pool uses as much as three people would use in a whole day. So make sure you cover it up with a bed sheet, and reuse it the next day;

• If you’ve got a traditional toilet without the two button flush, order a free Buffaloo from Severn Trent that’ll reduce how much water you use each flush; and

• Filthy cars are the new fashion – as long as you’re keeping your windows, mirrors and lights clean maybe your car would like to get a little dirty for a change

For more information on how to save water, visit stwater.co.uk/watersavingtips.