Water is our most precious resource.

That is something we know very well at Severn Trent because we deliver two billion litres of it to 4.6 million homes every day, including across the West Midlands and Shropshire.

This year we’ve had the driest March in 60 years and the sunniest April on record.  May has seen more warm weather and very little rain, so with less rain and drier weather, there’s obviously  less water in rivers and reservoirs. 

Our dedicated teams work 24/7 to ensure everyone gets the water they need, when they need it. But it’s important that we’re all water wise all year round, as using less water leaves more for the environment - and means there’s enough for everyone.

Experts predict climate change is causing hotter, drier summers and population growth means more people are using water. This week we’ve linked up with Waterwise for Water Saving Week to get the nation talking about saving water, and empowering people to take action at home, at work and in their community by becoming ‘Water Heroes’.

We are also doing our part by investing £400m across our network on 843 miles of new pipes to keep supplies moving, while we have also reduced leakage by a record 16% in the last 5 years.

And we plan to go faster and further by reducing leakage by another 15% in the next five years and HALVE the volume of water lost from our network by 2045.

Investing in innovation has also been a factor in reducing leakage, including using drones to spot leaks faster, as well as our ‘no dig technology’ making it quicker and cheaper to fix leaks, while also causing less disruption to customers.

We have also installed over 350,000 smart meters so far too, saving four million litres of water every day. This could see an immediate saving versus a flat-rate bill, as customers only pay for what they use.

People tend to think Britain gets more than its fair share of rain yet, as recent weather shows, that is not always the case. 

We have 66 reservoirs at Severn Trent and draw water from a mix of other sources, including rivers, springs and boreholes, which means supplies are resilient during drier and hotter weather. 

We have experts managing the flow of water on our huge network around the clock, helping to ensure everyone has enough supplies when they need it.

We’re also proud to have among the highest quality drinking water in the world too, ahead of countries like Sweden, Portugal and Australia, while our average supply outage lasts less than five minutes - 20 minutes less than Spain.

But, however prepared we are, we cannot guarantee rain so we encourage customers to continue to play their part in saving water where they can.

We’ve given out over 9,500 free water butts across our region, way ahead of our 8,000-installation target. This means customers will be able to use the rainwater collected from their roof to water their gardens instead of hose pipes, which can use 1,000 litres an hour. 

Other simple steps people can take to save water include keeping showers to five minutes, turning off the tap when brushing your teeth, and keeping a jug of cold water in the fridge so you don’t have to run the taps.

Changing ordinary habits can result in extraordinary benefits. So, let’s all continue to be water-wise and protect our most valuable resource - and enjoy a wonderful summer. 

*STEPH CAWLEY, CUSTOMER OPERATIONS DIRECTOR