Affinity Water – water shortages

Dear Resident…………. a message from our water supplier, Affinity Water

Since July 2016 there has been low rainfall and the water in our aquifers (porous rock where groundwater is stored) and rivers that we use to supply your water has dropped below average.

This is important as 60% of the water we supply to you comes from underground sources and aquifers only usually fill up from rainfall during autumn and winter when there is less plant growth and evaporation.

We welcomed the rainfall in May, June and July. This benefited the environment and helped reduce the demand for water. However, this was limited in comparison to the low rainfall over the last 12 months, particularly during our autumn and winter recharge season.

The below average levels in groundwater is mainly affecting our Central and Southeast regions. Our Central region covers people in parts of Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Surrey and the London Boroughs of Harrow and Hillingdon and parts of the London Boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Ealing and Enfield. Our Southeast region covers the Folkestone and Dover areas of Kent.

We continue to monitor the situation closely with clear plans in place to make sure we’re fully prepared, should the dry weather continue through the autumn and next winter.

In June, we launched our ‘Keep Track of the Tap’ campaign to ensure customers have the advice and practical help they need to save water. We delivered our ‘Keep Track of the Tap’ leaflet to approximately 1.7 million households across our Central and Southeast regions during July. This led to a substantial increase in water saving device orders and visits to our save water web page.

We have also launched radio and advertising campaigns across our regions to reinforce our water saving message and encourage uptake of water saving devices. 

To help us work with our customers to save water during this time we would be grateful if you could arrange for a link from your web and social media pages to www.affinitywater.co.uk/savewater