In a heat wave, the consumption of running water has increased

Brussels

Tap water consumption increased by almost 25%.

At this time of heat wave, it is not only the sellers of beers and soft drinks that turn at full speed. At Vivaqua, there is also an exceptional running water consumption. "Since July 1, until Thursday, July 26, the consumption of tap water has increased by 15% compared to the same period last year " remarks Vivaqua Olivier Lagneau's Network Operations Manager

"Even more remarkable, since this Monday, July 23rd, we are at current water consumption 20 to 25% higher than last year. is a very exceptional situation. " Exceptional, okay. But historical? "Hard to say, we can not compare to 1976 – a year of great drought in Europe – because the methods of calculation have since changed, I remember a particularly hot summer in 2003, but over a shorter period than at present. "

Overconsumption linked to the weather

In July, especially from the second week on, the consumption of running water drops significantly in Brussels because the schools are closed, the building sector too, the people are on vacation. This is also the case this year, but consumption remains more than 10% higher than in 2017 between June and July. High temperatures are of course the main cause of this overconsumption of running water in Brussels. "In addition to the fact that the inhabitants of Brussels drink more water, they take more showers, do more laundry because they sweat more.It is also watered more often the garden, the plants. and hydration broadly. "

On average this week, more or less 250 million liters of tap water consumed every day in Brussels. "It's still very high, in the other years it was 300,000 cubic meters a day in the summer, and this year we have not gone down below 300,000 once since the beginning of July" , continues Olivier Lagneau, who joins the call for caution regarding water consumption launched by Minister Céline Fremault (CDH) the day before yesterday. Does this over-consumption risk emptying Vivaqua's reserves? "For now no" explains Olivier Lagneau

No stress therefore, but no need to waste your tap water, even if it does not cause any plastic waste and costs on average 300 times less expensive than bottled water.