Thames Water’s plant in Beckton, east London, opened in 2010 with plans to supply up to 1 million people in an emergency, but that ambition has been scaled back amid doubts about when the facility might start operating. Despite July’s heatwave and the driest eight-month period since 1976, the Beckton plant will not start providing drinking water until next year, according to the Daily Telegraph. The company told the newspaper it had understated the estimated supply from the factory by a third. A spokesman said: “This adjustment was made based on experience and to avoid creating unrealistic expectations about the result that could be achieved over an extended period.” He added that “scheduled works” had to be completed before the plant could start operating. It means that even if a drought is declared in the Thames area, the plant will not work. Experts said Thames Water had failed to take into account the different levels of salt water in the Thames estuary. Of the 11 water companies, two – Southern Water and South East Water – have so far decided on pipe bans even after pressure from the government to do more to curb excessive water use. The two Tory leadership candidates have called for tougher action against suppliers who fail to tackle leaks. Former chancellor Rishi Sunak told the Telegraph he was considering offering compensation to customers if pipe bans were imposed as a result of water company failures. He said: “It is unacceptable for water companies to impose restrictions on their customers when they fail to contain leaks. We need tougher financial penalties on companies that don’t invest enough to stop wasting water.” Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST His opponent, Liz Truss, is planning tougher regulations. A spokesperson for her campaign told the Telegraph: “We should not be in a position where there should be tire bans. More needs to be done to ensure water companies fix leaks and waste in their networks. “As Prime Minister, Liz would look at how Ofwat could hold the water companies with the worst track record to account so that hard-working people across the country are not cut back on their water use in the summer months.” South East Water said on Wednesday it had “no choice” but to cut water use for 3 million households from August 12, saying demand this summer had broken “all previous records” in extremely dry conditions. But other companies, even in drier regions, are resisting a ban. Those involved in drought debates say companies prefer to wait until the last minute, when the rivers are dry, rather than upset customers by putting bans in place early. Yorkshire Water, which has reservoirs that are only 52% full, is among the companies opposing the tube ban. Instead, he urges customers not to wash their cars and if they must, wash them on the lawn. We all know someone who doesn’t wash their car! You may call them lazy but we call them water saving heroes! 🙌🚗 – a 🧵 We think a little dirt never hurt anyone, but if you’d rather give your car a quick once-over, why not just wash the windows, lights and mirrors? pic.twitter.com/HfVNT0FZP7 — Yorkshire Water 💧 (@YorkshireWater) August 3, 2022 And if you really need to keep it clean: ◾ If you can, wash it on grass to absorb excess water ◾ Collect cold water in a bucket while you wait for the shower to heat up and use it to clean your car instead of leaving the hose running Use less, save more pic.twitter.com/escYIQRIgn — Yorkshire Water 💧 (@YorkshireWater) August 3, 2022
