Don’t flush your toilet after using it to help preserve the country’s water supply, Thames Water director says
- Water boss Cathryn Ross: ‘If it’s yellow, let it soften, if it’s brown, rinse it off’
- Water utility regulator, Ofwat, has set targets for companies to reduce usage
Britons have been warned by a Thames Water executive not to flush their toilets after a puddle to preserve the country’s water supply.
Cathryn Ross, the water company’s director of strategy and regulatory affairs, has also pleaded with people to reduce the length of their showers to conserve water.
Water utility regulator Ofwat has set targets to reduce water consumption per person by a fifth by 2038, but most have failed to meet these targets by 2021/22.
Former Ofwat chief Ms Ross said UK water consumption was ‘unsustainable’ in the long term – with the average Briton consuming 142 liters a day, with a Thames Water customer consuming 146 liters on average.
When asked if people should follow the advice of ‘if it’s yellow, let it soften, if it’s brown, rinse it off’, she replied ‘absolutely yes’.
Britons have been warned by a Thames Water manager Cathryn Ross (pictured) not to flush their toilets after a puddle to preserve the country’s water supply
“If it’s yellow let it soften, if it’s brown wash it off,” agreed Ms Ross
She added that the main way to reduce daily water consumption is to “take shorter showers and not flush the toilet every time.” Time reported.
Ms Ross has also urged people to reduce the use of garden hoses during heat waves. Her company only implemented a ban in late August because of last year’s drought.
A garden hose running for ten minutes uses as much water as one person would use in an entire day.
Thames Water believes demand in the areas they cover, London, Oxfordshire and Guildford, will rise from 2.6 billion liters a day to 3.6 billion by 2050.
She said Britain would also need more reservoirs and transfers of water from wetter parts of the country to meet rising demand, saying the UK “desperately needs more water storage”.
Ms Ross said Britain would also need more reservoirs and transfers of water from wetter parts of the country to meet rising demand, saying the UK ‘desperately needs more water storage’ (file photo of Walthamstow Wetlands reservoir )
Thames Water wants to build a new reservoir in Oxfordshire, near Abingdon, where the government rejected plans to build one in 2011.
Ms Ross told The Times they also need to address the 24 per cent of water loss from leaks.
They want to take water from the River Thames at Teddington Lock to fill reservoirs in East London and replace it with treated water from Mogden’s sewage treatment plant – but the plans have met with local opposition.
But she has said the water is “safe, it’s treated, it’s clean” and that “people shouldn’t worry.” A decision on the scheme is expected to be made in June.
