Water supplies in Jersey down 15% during hottest month on record

Jersey Water is warning that supplies are falling quickly, as people are again urged to save water wherever possible.

July was the warmest month on record, with an average temperature of 21.3°C.

There were five consecutive days of over 30°C temperatures, with most of the month's rainfall falling in a three-hour period.

July 2026 in Jersey - Warmest July and warmest of any month on record. July is the third consecutive month that was warmest on record. pic.twitter.com/2dRkSAiPFS

— Jersey Met (@Jersey_Met) August 4, 2026

July was southern England's driest month ever recorded, with heat health alerts still in place for most of the country.

Half of England is in drought, with hosepipe bans in place in some parts and a warning that further restrictions on water use might follow.

No such restrictions are in place in Jersey, but there is a warning that may happen if people don't do their bit to save water.

The island's reservoir levels are just under 74% full, but supplies are dropping rapidly.

Mark Bowden, Head of Water Resilience and Emergency Planning at Jersey Water, said:

"We do expect our reservoir levels to be at their lowest during September and October and we do rely on that autumn and winter recharge.

"At the moment, what we're seeing is the weather forecast outlook is predominantly dry, there's very, very little rain in the forecast, and because it's so dry, it's going to take an awful lot of rainfall for those levels, those streams, and then the reservoirs to recover.

"We're not implementing any hosepipe restrictions at this time, we're not enforcing that, but we're asking people voluntarily to modify their usage, to avoid using their hosepipe if they can, to put up with having a dirty car for the summer, and to just be really sensible with that water usage."

Advice to reduce water use includes:

• Taking shorter showers
• Not leaving the tap running when brushing your teeth
• Making sure washing machines and dishwashers are only used on full cycles and they're in water-efficient modes

Not using hosepipes is estimated to save between 5% and 10% of demand.

The desalination plant is now being prepared for operation, and is due to be in use later this month.

Mr Bowden added:

"We shouldn't rely on that desalination plant. It is like a lifeboat for us, really, to help us out through the summer.

Picture Credit: Max Burnett

"We ask customers to use as little of the water as possible.

"Living on a small island, we only have a finite supply of water and a lot of people making very small changes can have a big overall effect on the amount of water that we use.

"You only have to look across western Europe and the UK - many areas have already implemented hosepipe bans, there's been lots of challenges with wildfires and extreme demand for water which have led to a shortage of supplies.

"We just ask everybody to be conscious of their water consumption, to understand that everybody making small changes can make a difference."

The island uses around 24million litres of water a day during the really hot spells.