Rain welcomed but water scarcity pressures unabated

Water companies warned last week that the recent rain has done little to alleviate water resource challenges and urged customers to keep trying to use water wisely.

Yorkshire Water said its reservoir levels now sit as 32.6%, well below the 72.7% average for this time of year. Dave Kaye, director of water services, said: “While the rain, which was heavy in some areas but short-lived, has been welcome, the majority has been taken up by the extremely dry ground, as well as plants and trees.

“The rain has helped river levels in some areas, which will allow us to abstract from watercourses to take the strain off our reservoirs. This, combined with drought orders and permits that have been granted on the Ouse and Wharfe, as well as others we have applied for in the South and North-West of the region, will help to reduce the burden on reservoirs and enable reservoirs to recover quicker in the autumn and winter.

“Customers adhering to the restrictions has also helped reduce domestic water usage by 10% and our smart meter rollout in Sheffield is helping to identify leaks on customers’ properties, helping them to save water and money on their bills.”

In Scotland, Scottish Water said average reservoir levels were at 69%, which is 13% lower than the average of 82% for this time of year. In the worst affected east of Scotland, average reservoir levels were down 2% to 53%, which is 28% below the average of 81% for this time of year there.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) reported that ten areas, up from last week’s six, are now in ‘significant scarcity’. It warned: “Unless there is sustained rainfall in the coming days ‘significant scarcity’ could be reached in several other eastern areas next week.”

SEPA has issued temporary restrictions on some licences to abstract water from the environment in the areas that have reached significant water scarcity. It is working with the affected water abstractors — principally, NFU Scotland and the Scotch Whisky Association — to minimise the impact where possible.

• Two water company trials of Wizso tablets have indicated public willingness to flush the loo less. Wizso produces non-toxic pellets that can be dropped into the toilet to neutralise odour and colour the water blue, to save a flush. Affinity Water offered Wizso to Bidwell West residents, a new 908-home development in Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire, where water saving innovations are being trialed. 60% of participants accepted Wizso, 72% said they are likely to use the product again or recommend it to others, and those who used it saw significantly higher savings than those who didn’t.

Scottish Water found Wizso enabled an average 27% reduction in flushes over four weeks, after trialling the tablets at its Inverness 30-employee site. Further trials are ongoing.