By law, we must maintain a level of water pressure in the water mains network which allows water to reach the top floor of your home. This does not apply to any floors of a property that are higher than the reservoir or water tower that supplies the property with water.
We are legally required to supply a minimum water pressure of 7 metres head (0.7 bar) to your boundary stop tap. We use checking devices throughout our mains network to monitor this.
There may be times when we cannot meet the 7 metres head (0.7 bar) target. Most commonly due to high water demand during hot summer months. Sometimes routine work on our water mains network or a burst water main can temporarily reduce pressure, but this should return to normal. Find out if there is any planned work being carried out in your area.
Emergency works
We have to carry out emergency works on occasion and this may affect the pressure to your property for up to 24 hours until the water supply has returned to normal again. Please check our emergency alerts to see if we are working in your area.
Pressure management
We carry out planned pressure management in areas that have high operating pressure, gradually reducing the water pressure over a period of weeks. This additional water pressure puts unnecessary stress on our network and can lead to interruptions to supplies for our customers as well as bursts, road works and traffic problems. It could also affect our customers internal pipes causing leaks and significant damage.
By carefully controlling the water pressure in the area it helps to reduce leakage because the water pipes are under less stress. Our water regulator OFWAT expects us to reduce our company leakage and we have committed to this in our Business Plan. Over the next 5 years we are spending £4 million to better control water pressure in our region.
Pressure management can have an effect on internal plumbing systems (such as Megaflow and combination boilers) which may need resetting to the new pressure provided. You can do this by checking the manual for your appliance or see a water industry approved plumber for advice.
We are legally required to supply a water pressure of 7 metres head (0.7 bar) to your boundary stop tap; if you need more than this you should review what installations are suitable for your property, please note there is no upper limit for water pressure. Before installing any new systems please make sure you check with a water industry approved plumber that it will work efficiently at our minimum target water pressure of 7 metres head (0.7 bar) and a water flow of 9 litres per minute at the boundary stop tap and at your current water pressure.