Swap paddling pools for water blasters to keep cool in heatwave, Britons urged

A water company is asking homeowners to restrict the use of children’s paddling pools as hundreds of properties are left without water due to a heatwave.

South East Water has urged people to use water blasters (pressure washers or toy water guns) to reduce high water demand.

Homes around Ashford, Maidstone and Cranbrook in Kent, Battle in East Sussex and Hurstpierpoint in West Sussex experienced water cuts on Wednesday.

Around 800 properties in three Kent villages experienced disruption for several days over the bank holiday weekend.

The company is urging residents to use water “for essential purposes only” such as drinking, washing and cooking, as water storages are already low and demand far outstrips the rate at which it can purify and pump water into homes.

“We are sorry for our customers who are experiencing water supply issues. Exceptionally high temperatures have, as expected, created very high demand on tap water supplies,” a company spokesperson said.

“Although we are planning for very high demand given the weather forecast, we are experiencing low storage in our supply area by increasing production at our water treatment plants and putting extra water into the grid.”

Earlier this month, South East Water’s chief executive David Hinton resigned just a week after the company’s chairman resigned amid widespread criticism over major supply disruptions in Kent and Sussex.

As part of sweeping government reforms to water regulation, companies will have to implement mandatory “MOT” of their infrastructure.

Residents are asked to stop using jet washes, hoses and sprinklers and replace children’s pools with water sprayers.

“The car and porch can wait to be washed,” he said.

“Reuse water in bathrooms, showers and sinks in the garden.”

May temperature records were broken on both Monday and Tuesday, when 35.1C was reached in London, while much of the rest of the UK was left sweltering in extreme heat.

South East Water said the water network was “like a motorway”, with roads grinding to a halt when everyone was using it at the same time.

“When an entire neighborhood uses water at the same time, water is withdrawn from local pipes so quickly that the pressure drops,” he said.

“We have also experienced some leaks and explosions on the network. We know this is extremely frustrating.”

The company said it was working hard to fix the issues as quickly as possible.

Experts recommend not taking cold showers in hot weather.