Northumbrian Water make Newcastle plea after prolonged spell of dry weather

Northumbrian Water, who supply 2.7 million customers in the North East have urged people to use water wisely after the North East ‘prolonged dry weather’ statement from the Environment Agency.

The North East has seen below-average rainfall, extreme dry periods and heatwaves, in the past seven months. This means that this year we have had the driest spring and early summer for the first time in 26 years, the last in 1996.

Due to the dry weather conditions, Northumbrian Water has seen demand for water sky-rocket to 20%. The demand has remained at extremely high levels during this period.

The teams at Northumbrian Water have been working hard to keep water flowing, with additional staff finding and repairing leaks caused by ground movement in the hot weather.

However, despite these efforts, the increased demand for water and dry weather has meant that reservoir levels are lower than usual. Northumbrian Water is closely monitoring and managing the levels and the distribution of water in the region.

Keith Haslett, Water Director at Northumbrian Water said: “We are not anticipating the need for any restrictions on water usage this summer, however we are keeping a close watch on the situation and our teams are planning ahead for the rest of the summer into autumn, as the winter recharge will be important.

“As an environmentally responsible company, we are monitoring and carefully managing the resources we take from the environment and to help protect the region, we are encouraging our customers to use water wisely and preserve precious resources where they can. The smallest changes really do make the biggest difference.”

Northumbrian Water are continuing to work with the Environment Agency, alongside other partners to ensure they are protecting supplies to the best of their ability, and keeping water flowing for customers.

To do this, and maintain the health of the region’s rivers, the Kielder Transfer Scheme began on August 11, which involves moving around 30 million litres of water per day from Kielder reservoir into the River Wear. This is the first time in 16 years that a Tyne-Wear transfer has been made.

Please visit the Northumbrian Water website, for more information.