THAMES Water has urged people to be wiser with their water usage after they had to pump an extra 450 million litres of water into its network during this summer’s heatwave.

In Swindon it has become noticeable that there has been a lack of water from rain – all you have to do is look at the grass in your garden or playing fields to see the green colouring has faded.

There has been no indication of a hosepipe ban being issued as of yet, but the water company have made it a priority to reduce the amount everyone uses.

As part of a new water efficiency campaign, launching next week, customers will be encouraged to take a ‘10 litre challenge’ to reduce their water use by 10 litres a day.

They have issued some tips for people to try and reduce how much they use, this includes: showers less than four minutes instead of using a bath, tap off when brushing teeth, watering can rather than a hosepipe for plants, and washing the car with a bucket and sponge.

Andrew Tucker, water efficiency manager at Thames Water, said: “We’ve really ramped up our water saving efforts to meet the record demand levels during the ongoing heatwave.

“That’s why we’re also asking our customers to care for water as much as possible and see if there are any simple changes they can make to help ensure there is enough to go around and prevent the need for restrictions later in the year.

“Water is a precious resource, and, with a growing population and impact of climate change, there continues to be pressure on supplies across our region.”