June saw a heat wave in the south east with prolonged periods of unprecedented hot weather, the hottest June on record in fact. The summer, it seems, was short lived and our miserable July has seen almost daily downpours which show no immediate signs of letting up.
We are all seeing and experiencing freak weather conditions worldwide and whilst parts of Europe, Canada and the USA are suffering from extreme heat and devastating fires, we are suffering the reverse, as parts of the UK are flooding.
There is, however, some better news to report and as a consequence of all the recent rainfall, South East Water announced on Friday that the hosepipe ban affecting a large area of East Sussex and Kent has been lifted with immediate effect. Isn't it ironic that we get permission to water the garden just when the last thing we need is more water!
Bosses at South East Water made the decision less than two months after introducing the Temporary Use Ban (TUB) which prevented customers from using hosepipes for watering their gardens, washing cars, patios and boats and from filling swimming and paddling pools – with rule-breakers facing fines of up to £1,000.
South East Water explained that the period of dry weather led to the firm needing to supply up to an additional 138 million litres of water a day – equivalent to supplying four towns the size of Maidstone or Eastbourne. As a result it was “left with no choice but to introduce the temporary use ban to bring demand down to maintain supplies.”
Hopefully, now South East Water can maintain supplies to properties and businesses in the area without regular disruptions, especially in more rural areas and that works to replace decaying or damaged mains water supplies will soon be completed, so road closures, diversions (or lack of them) and disruptions will all dry up soon, too.
