Keir Starmer’s gov tells UK residents to delete old emails and pictures to save water during drought

“Simple, everyday choices – such as turning off a tap or deleting old emails – also really help the collective effort to reduce demand and help preserve the health of our rivers and wildlife,” said Helen Wakeham, the Environment Agency’s director of water.

The UK government has issued new guidance on how to save water as parts of the country are dealing with a drought. One of the recommendations includes deleting “old emails and pictures”, according to a press release on the government’s website, which claims that data centres “require vast amounts of water to cool their systems.”

The advice was issued as five areas of Great Britain have entered into drought following the fourth heatwave of the summer.

“The current situation is nationally significant, and we are calling on everyone to play their part and help reduce the pressure on our water environment,” said Helen Wakeham, the Environment Agency’s director of water. “We are grateful to the public for following the restrictions, where in place, to conserve water in these dry conditions. Simple, everyday choices – such as turning off a tap or deleting old emails – also really help the collective effort to reduce demand and help preserve the health of our rivers and wildlife.”

Emergency officials have declared drought in Yorkshire, Cumbria and Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire, the East Midlands, and the West Midlands. Six additional areas have been categorised as having “prolonged dry weather”, which includes the Northeast, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, East Anglia, Thames, Wessex, Solent, and South Downs. Prolonged dry weather is the phase before a drought is declared.

The majority of the impacted areas have hosepipe bans in place. The UK government reported that Yorkshire Water saw a ten percent reduction in domestic demand following such a ban, which equates to “saving up to 80 million litres per day – equivalent to 32 Olympic-sized swimming pools.”

The seven recommendations to save water, as indicated in the press release, include installing a rain butt to collect rainwater to use in the garden, fixing a leaking toilet, using water from the kitchen to water your plants, avoiding watering your lawn, turning off the taps when brushing teeth or shaving, taking shorter showers, and deleting old emails and pictures, as data centres require vast amounts of water to cool their systems.