Desalination plant turned on to boost water supplies as reservoir levels drop

Islanders are being urged to shorten showers and avoid washing cars after Jersey Water had to turn on the plant responsible for turning sea water into drinking water to bolster supplies.

Reservoir levels are down by approximately 140 million litres, which equates to roughly one entire week’s supply for the whole island, following one of the driest springs on record and a dry start to summer.

Even though Jersey has had some rainfall in the past week, Jersey Water said it has not been enough to put water supplies in a comfortable position for the rest of the summer.

Currently, no water restrictions are in place for the island, but the utility company is continuing to monitor reservoir levels and daily demand closely – and “is not ruling out the need for temporary use bans if conditions worsen”.

The desalination plant can generate up to 10 million litres of water per day to provide critical support during prolonged dry periods, and has produced 30 million litres of fresh water from seawater in the past week.

But it costs over £5,000 per day to run and uses a megawatt of electricity, so Jersey Water is urging islanders to make “concerted efforts” to save water.

Mark Bowden, Head of Water Resilience and Emergency Planning, said the plant is a “safety net, not a silver bullet”.

“If we face more dry weather over the summer and into autumn and winter, we will need the collective efforts of the whole Island to make sure we have enough water,” he said.

“That’s why it’s important for every household and business to do what they can now to reduce wastage.”