Football fever sends water demand into extra time
A Thames Water van drives down a residential street at night.
- England's early-hours clash with Mexico contributes to overnight water demand surge
Thames Water saw an additional 140 million litres of water demand between 6:00 pm on Sunday 5 July and 6:00 am on Monday 6 July compared with the same period the previous week, enough to pour around 246 million pints(1).
Demand was 94 million litres higher between 6:00 pm and midnight, with a further 46 million litres used between midnight and 6am, coinciding with England's match against Mexico, which kicked off at 2:00am UK time.
The increase reflects the prolonged evening and overnight demand patterns often seen by the company during the summer, when warmer temperatures, later bedtimes and major sporting events encourage people to stay up later, use more water and keep hydrated.
Notes
- Using the UK imperial conversion of 1 L ≈ 1.76 pints