Water reserves continue to fall
- Guernsey's reservoirs are currently 74.4% full, with storage levels falling by around 2% per week despite recent rainfall
- Last week's 6mm rainfall was the wettest day since 1 June but contributed only 17 hours' worth of island-wide water demand
- Island used 92.4 million litres last week but collected only 24 million litres, creating a deficit of 68.4 million litres
- Storage levels are 10% lower than seasonal average, representing 400 million litres or a month's worth of summer usage
- Guernsey Water is not currently considering a hosepipe ban but urges residents to continue reducing water consumption
Guernsey Water has warned that storage levels continue to decline and residents must maintain efforts to reduce consumption.
Rainfall on Wednesday last week totalled 6mm, making it the wettest day since 1 June and bringing more rain than was recorded during the whole of July.
Reservoirs are currently 74.4% full. On average, storage levels have been falling by around 2% per week, with last week's rainfall reducing that decline to 1.5%.
Over the last five months, reservoir levels have increased in only two weeks, with those gains amounting to less than two days' worth of island demand.
Last week, Guernsey Water collected 24 million litres of water but supplied 92.4 million litres to customers, creating a deficit of 68.4 million litres. Wednesday's rainfall contributed the equivalent of just 17 hours of island-wide demand to storage.
The lower temperatures forecast this week are expected to help moderate demand, with last week seeing usage fall by 10 million litres when compared to the previous week when temperatures again surpassed 30C.
Despite the recent rainfall, Guernsey has received only around a third of the average rainfall expected during August, following months of extremely dry conditions. Storage levels are 10% lower than the seasonal average, reducing levels by 400 million litres — around a month's worth of summer usage.
Water Quality Risk Manager Daffyd Griffiths said: "The rain we've seen recently has certainly helped and we're always pleased to see water flowing into our reservoirs. However, as we'd expect for this time of year we're still using substantially more water than we're collecting."
"The figures tell the story. Last week islanders used more than 92 million litres of water, we collected just 24 million litres - much better than in previous weeks, but still far short of what is needed. That gap continues to reduce our stored reserves and it's that deficit we can all influence by using less water. Small actions repeated thousands of times add up and make a difference. We would encourage everyone to continue taking sensible steps to reduce water use wherever possible."
Mr Griffiths added: "At the moment we are not considering a hosepipe ban. However, reducing demand now helps us preserve supplies for the months ahead and provides greater resilience if dry conditions continue."
Guernsey Water is encouraging customers to continue using water wisely by taking shorter showers, avoiding unnecessary use of hosepipes, delaying car washing where possible and reusing water around the home and garden.
The utility will continue to provide regular updates on reservoir levels and water resources every fortnight.
Q&A
Q: How much rainfall did Guernsey receive last week?
A: Guernsey received 6mm of rainfall on Wednesday last week, making it the wettest day since 1 June and bringing more rain than was recorded during the whole of July.
Q: What is the current level of Guernsey's water reservoirs?
A: Reservoirs are currently 74.4% full, which is 10% lower than the seasonal average. Storage levels have been falling by around 2% per week, though last week's rainfall reduced that decline to 1.5%.
Q: Is Guernsey Water planning to introduce a hosepipe ban?
A: No, Guernsey Water is not currently considering a hosepipe ban. However, the utility is encouraging residents to continue reducing water consumption to preserve supplies for the months ahead and provide greater resilience if dry conditions continue.
Comments ()