ENVIRONMENT AGENCY RESPONDS TO SOUTHERN WATER’S RESTRICTIONS ANNOUNCEMENT

31/05/2005 - The Environment Agency welcomes Southern Water’s recent announcement that restrictions will be put in place to try and minimise water use in North Sussex.
Water is a limited resource and the amount available depends on how much rain falls out of the sky. Since the autumn we have had six consecutive months of below average rainfall. Any rain that falls now is falling on dry ground and not topping up the water supplies in the way it would have, had it fallen during the winter.

It is important that everyone takes responsibility for their water use. A sprinkler running for one hour uses as much water as a family of six uses in a whole day. For the garden, keep in mind that plants prefer rain water to tap water and think about installing a water butt to collect rain water.

While people in north Sussex have an obligation to observe the hosepipe ban, we would encourage those who live outside the banning area to follow the good example and help protect water supplies for the remainder of the summer.