WITH much of the UK planning on a ‘staycation’ holiday this summer, Welsh Water is ramping up operations to accommodate the extra demands for water it is anticipating across some parts of Wales over the summer holidays.

The company has confirmed that demand for water has soared to near record levels over the past 72 hours, with prolonged high temperatures as Wales basked in the glorious sunshine.

Welsh Water usually treats and supplies around 800 million litres of clean water a day to three million customers - roughly the same amount needed to fill 320 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Over the last three days, Welsh Water has had to supply an additional 15 million litres of water per day.

With 23 million people in Britain expected to staycation this year, Welsh Water predicts that this demand will continue with a 10 per cent increase in demand expected between now and the end of September, which could increase to as much as 20 per cent depending on weather and tourist numbers.

As a result, the company has ramped up production at its water treatment works so that they are producing enough clean water to keep up with the demand.

Ian Christie, Managing Director of Water, Asset Planning and Capital Delivery Services said: “As a company, we usually expect a surge in demand during summer months and we are proactive in how we adjust our operations during this time.

“This summer will be different due to the amount of people planning to holiday in Wales and meeting this demand will naturally bring some additional challenges for the company.

“Naturally we welcome holidaymakers to Wales and want them to enjoy their time here, but it will mean we need to stretch the water around more people than usual.

“That is why we are already taking big steps to ensure we as a company are as fully prepared as possible.”