Water firm serving the West Midlands issues vital update on 'temporary restrictions'

Residents across the Black Country, Staffordshire, Shropshire, the West Midlands and Mid Wales are being urged to use water only for essential purposes as two major water companies warn soaring demand is putting supplies under pressure.

South Staffs Water and Severn Trent have both appealed to customers to cut back on non-essential water use following prolonged hot, dry weather and record-breaking demand across the region.

South Staffs Water said it is asking customers to avoid unnecessary water use to help “reduce the risk of temporary restrictions”, such as a hosepipe ban, becoming necessary.

The company said while temperatures had eased slightly, demand remained exceptionally high and local water resources were under significant strain.

It warned that although no restrictions are currently in place, temporary measures may have to be introduced if demand continues at the levels seen over the past week.

Customers in the South Staffs Water area typically use around 330 million litres of water a day, but in recent weeks that figure has exceeded 415 million litres daily – a 26 per cent increase equivalent to an extra 800,000 baths every day.

The company said it has not introduced water restrictions for decades and is investing £702 million over the next five years to improve water services across the region.

It said teams are working around the clock to maximise water production and repair leaks as quickly as possible, but stressed that water can be used faster than it can be treated and moved around the network during periods of exceptional demand.

Residents are being asked to let lawns turn brown naturally, avoid washing cars, use watering cans instead of hoses where possible, and take shorter showers.

Meanwhile, Severn Trent has also appealed for customers to help after recording its highest-ever single day of water demand over the weekend.

The company said demand reached almost 2.4 billion litres a day – around 400 million litres more than normal – surpassing previous records set during the 2022 drought and the Covid pandemic.

Water use has remained unusually high throughout the day and late into the evening, with demand continuing well beyond the usual peak period.

The increase has been driven by people watering gardens, filling paddling pools and using more water during the ongoing heatwave.

A Severn Trent spokesman said: "We've seen the highest demand ever for water in a single day.

"The combination of extreme heat and prolonged dry weather in this third heatwave means people are using much more water and for much longer throughout the day.

"Our teams are working around the clock, treating more water, moving supplies across the region and fixing leaks at record levels. But we need customers' help too.

"There are no restrictions in place, and we want to keep it that way."

The company said customers can help by using watering cans instead of sprinklers, allowing lawns to recover naturally, reusing water from paddling pools on plants, and only running washing machines and dishwashers when they are full.

Both firms said small changes made by households could collectively save millions of litres of water every day, helping to protect supplies and reduce the likelihood of temporary restrictions if the hot, dry weather continues.