Thames Water is tackling ongoing high demand for water supply as temperatures soar alongside a crackdown on leakage.

Throughout July, demand for water surged with Britain’s biggest water company pumping an extra 450 million litres of water a day into the network, an extra 17 per cent.

Dozens of extra teams were also out on the streets to find and fix leaks on its own network, with more than 1,000 a week being repaired, while also offering to fix leaks on customer pipes for free.

Demand across the company’s region fell by 10 per cent over the previous weekend during the damp and cooler weather

Andrew Tucker, water efficiency manager at Thames Water, said:

“There is plenty of water to go around, but the sheer volume of water being used all at the same time across our 20,000 miles of pipes means it’s a challenge for us to produce it quick enough to meet demand.

In addition to asking customers to use water wisely, the company is also asking customers to report any new leaks they may see on roads and pavements so they can be assessed and fixed.

The firm is currently fixing more than 1,000 a week, including leaks on pipes within private property boundaries which are legally the responsibility of the property owner, but which Thames fixes for free. During a two week period last month, the firm fixed around 150 leaks on customer properties.

Thames Water is also visiting homes, businesses and high-use customers across its region to offer water saving advice and fix small internal leaks on taps and toilets.

It recently fixed dozens of leaks in one large Aylesbury hotel alone, and estimates the visits are saving more than five million litres of water every day.