‘Stop watering the garden and swimming pools, possibly no water from the tap’ | Inland

Drinking water company Vitens already warned on Saturday that the water pressure in a number of areas in the Netherlands will decrease sharply in the course of the evening or disappear completely if less drinking water is not used immediately.

The company wants customers to stop watering gardens, filling swimming pools and washing cars. In addition, everyone must take a short shower and only switch on the washing machine at night.

According to Vitens, people started using less water after the warning. The consumption on Saturday around 9 p.m. was lower than at the same time on Friday evening, while it was just as warm at the time. On Friday, 1.424 billion liters of water flowed from the taps at Vitens customers. Never since its foundation in 2006, Vitens has supplied so much drinking water in one day.

Later in the day, Waterleiding Maatschappij Limburg (WML) also reported with a similar advice, 1Limburg reported. The WML site states that the company, which supplies more than 500,000 households and about 15,000 companies in Limburg with water, has seen an enormous increase in drinking water consumption in the last few days. The site contains tips on how to use water smarter in these warm times.

30 to 50 percent more

Vitens supplies drinking water to 5.8 million households in five provinces. Since Thursday, the first hot day, 30 to 50 percent more drinking water has been used, the company said. Usually 1 billion liters of water per day is enough to provide everyone with drinking water, but on Saturday 1.3 to 1.5 billion liters were already needed. “As a result, our water reservoirs empty too quickly. Then there is no other option than to lower the pressure in the pipes. In some places, the result may be that no more water comes out of the tap. ” Vitens’ urgent appeal applies to the entire working area, but especially to the provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel. A lot of tourists stay there during this summer holiday, which has caused the number of water users to increase sharply. Moreover, these provinces already have to contend with very low groundwater levels and drought.

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