No hosepipe ban for Peterborough on cards - despite incredibly dry July

There are no plans for water restrictions for Peterborough residents in the pipeline – but people are being urged to use water sensibly after one of the driest July’s on record.

Along with record breaking temperatures, there has been less than 8mm of rain recorded in the city this month – much lower than normal, leading to yellow, dried out gardens and low river levels across the East of the country.

Driest eight months since 1976

It is not just July that has been dry, and Anglian Water have said the current ‘rainfall deficit’ is equivalent to 2-3 months’ worth of rain after the driest eight months since 1976.

Last week the Environment Agency announced the East was now in ‘prolonged dry weather’ status

There is currently no sign of a let up in the dry weather, and Trevor Robbins Pratt, from Peterborough Weather Watch said: "It has been a very dry July. My current rainfall total is 7.7mm, and my mean for July is around 62mm based on my data which started in 2006.”

Despite the very dry conditions, Anglian Water have reassured residents there are currently no plans for any hosepipe bans

River levels lower than average

An Anglian Water spokesperson said: “On a normal day, we supply roughly 1.1 billion litres of top-quality drinking water to our 4.3 million customers across the East of England, but as temperatures peaked at over 40 degrees, so did the demand for water. We exceeded a record breaking 1.6 billion litres – a 37% increase, and more water than we’ve ever treated and sent to customers’ taps before.

 “Despite a very dry year so far, our reservoir levels are stable, at around 80% full, and our groundwater sources are in good shape too, so we’re not currently planning any hosepipe bans this year. River levels are lower than average however, and we’re already reducing the amount of water we abstract in order to protect the environment.

 “We operate in the driest region in the country, so conserving and managing our water resources and protecting against drought is what we do every day. Although one dry winter doesn’t give us cause for concern now, we also need to make sure we conserve enough water for tomorrow, next month and next summer too. It’s such a precious commodity that often gets take for granted. This is why we always encourage customers to use water wisely, whatever the weather.”

Water saving tips

Anglian Water have issued a number of water saving tips to help Peterborough residents:

Turning the tap off when brushing your teeth. It will save more than 2 full buckets of water a day.

Cutting showers to just 5 minutes, our region could save over 100 million litres of water every single day - that's like leaving a tap running for 30 years

Save 10 litres of water by running one full load of washing instead of two half loads.

A running tap uses 15 litres every minute – so why not try washing your fruit and vegetables in a bowl of fresh water

For more information visit https://www.anglianwater.co.uk/help-and-advice/save-water/