Take shorter showers, says boss at crisis-hit Thames Water

Telegraph

a day ago

A boss at crisis-hit Thames Water has asked customers to take shorter showers.
The UK's biggest water company, which is teetering on the brink of collapse, has also urged people to turn off the tap when brushing their teeth, reduce laundry loads and fix leaking lavatories.
The advice is intended to help conserve water as England faces a summer drought after the driest spring since the reign of Queen Victoria.
Andrew Tucker, the firm's water demand reduction manager, told the BBC: 'A couple of minutes off your shower could save a huge amount.
'The south east of England gets less annual average rainfall than Sydney, Rome and Lisbon and is feeling the impact of climate change and extreme weather events.
'The UK faces a shortage of water in 25 years and, whilst people are aware, behavioural change isn't coming through yet, as our latest data shows. Being water efficient is very easy – it's the simple things that make a difference.'
Regions in drought status
England has experienced its driest March, April and May since 1893. Five regions across the North were moved to drought status by the Environment Agency because reservoirs and rivers are at such low levels.
A survey by Thames Water of 2,000 adults in its network area, conducted by Opinion Matters, found that the average person spends about eight minutes in the shower.
The company said a person who shaved two minutes off their shower time could save £73 on water and energy bills a year and around 20 litres of water per person every day.
The survey also found that 42 per cent of people say they keep the tap running while they brush their teeth. A running basin tap can use six litres of water a minute and people who turn off the tap 10 seconds sooner save over half a litre, the firm said.
It also said that on average leaking lavatories on average waste 200-400 litres of water a day, and that doing two less weekly washes can save a person £46 on their water and energy bills.
The advice comes as the utility giant struggles under a £20 billion debt pile and faces the risk of collapse into a government-supervised administration.
The firm's attempt to secure its future suffered a major blow this week after a potential rescue deal collapsed. On Tuesday, the private equity firm KKR abandoned plans for a £4 billion bailout following a row over fines and executive bonuses.
The firm was also hit with a record £123 million fine last week by Ofwat, the water industry regulator, for breaching rules over sewage spills and shareholder payouts.