Southern prepares drought permit for River Test as demand soars

Southern Water is preparing a drought permit application for the River Test in Hampshire, which may be submitted at the end of August if hot and dry weather continues. The news came as multiple companies battled to supply soaring demand in last week’s heatwave.

Southern warned temporary use bans may need to be imposed if the permit is approved and implemented. The need for the permit follows rocketing temperatures, more people staying home in the holidays because of Covid, and the March 2019 Testwood abstraction licence change, which prevents abstraction when river flow falls below 355 Ml/d to protect the environmentally valuable resource.

Many companies struggled to keep taps flowing last week through the heat as demand skyrocketed. South East Water lost supply to around 300 properties the weekend before last as demand tipped records on the Friday at 696m litres. The company issued 170,000 litres of bottled water as part of its effort to manage the situation.

Others including Anglian and Portsmouth urged some of their customers to only consume for essential use to prevent others losing supply. Bob Taylor, Portsmouth Water chief executive, said: “We are asking customers to restrict their use of water during the next few days of heatwave, in order to ensure that all customers receive a reliable water supply. Demand over the weekend was the highest in over ten years and we are encouraging people to use water carefully to ensure there is plenty for personal hygiene needs, something that is so important to combat the spread of Covid-19.”