Missing Water!

IT'S JUST WATER, WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?

Water is an increasingly precious commodity and as we are operating in a water stressed area, the amount of water we are allowed to extract from the aquifer is restricted by the Environment Agency. Understandably, this limit is not negotiable so in order to remain within our limits, it is essential that we keep a daily, sometimes hourly record off water demand. We do this by reading several of our distribution pipe meters and by closely monitoring the data they provide. This process can help us identify leaks in our network.

WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?

Recently, large volumes of water have been lost from our supply line with no explanation. These large spikes in demand are often seen over a small period of time, making it difficult for us to pin point where and when this is taking place. We know these are not leaks as the demand we see is not continual nor consistent.

The likely place for such large amounts of water to be taken from is our fire hydrants where substantial volumes of water can be released quickly. The obvious action to take would be to secure the hydrants with locks, however, the county fire services have understandable issues with this being carried out as it could delay their urgent access to a water supply during a fire emergency.

HOW CAN OUR CUSTOMERS HELP?

We are heavily reliant on our customers reporting any vehicle that looks to be accessing the water supply and reporting this to us. It is often an innocent mistake, for example; drainage contractors working on behalf of Southern Water, having being given permission by Southern to use their hydrants but not knowing that they are in an independent supply area and that the network they are tapping into is actually Cholderton Water and not Southern Water.

However, sometimes the reason is not quite as innocent and water is taken from our network intentionally. This is water theft and under the Water Industry Act, the company has certain powers to take action against anyone stealing water.

LET US KNOW IF YOU SEE ANYTHING UNUSUAL

It would be incredibly helpful if you would take a few moments to let us know what you have seen. Details such as locations, dates & times, vehicle or person descriptions (including registration numbers) or anything else you think may be relevant would all help us identify, contact and take action against any person or company accessing our network without permission.