Conserve water, customers are urged

PEOPLE ARE being urged to conserve water as some areas suffer problems with supplies because of high demand in the heatwave.

Water companies are calling on customers to put away garden sprinklers, take short showers instead of baths, and avoid using hoses to clean cars or water the plants to reduce demand.

Huge spikes in demand for water at mornings and evening peak times mean utilities are having to pump billions more litres of water into the system, but they say it is often being used by customers as fast as it is supplied.

The warning came as the hot dry conditions were spelling bad news for the harvest, especially for crops already affected by the year’s cold wet start, farmers have warned. National Farmers’ Union deputy president Guy Smith said it was too early to say the harvest would be disastrous, but every day of heat and a lack of rain was likely to make it smaller.

He pointed to one of his father’s favourite phrases – “It’s a dripping June that keeps your farm in tune” – and warned “it’s not very harmonious out there at the moment” because of the lack of rain.

“If you don’t get some rain in June, the harvest quickly loses its potential,” he said.

But the heatwave could deliver excellent vegetables, fruit and flowers in the nation’s gardens – if they get enough water.

“Plants, like gardeners, love sunshine and warmth, as long as they have enough water,” the RHS’s chief horticultural adviser, Guy Barter, said.

The hottest location in the region yesterday was Topcliffe, North Yorkshire, which reached 27C at 3pm. Sunshine and soaring temperatures are due to continue through the weekend.