Water outage would be catastrophic, brewery says

A brewery director has warned that water usage is "something the whole industry should be thinking about" amid the threat of shortages.

Mark Berry, director of Gun Brewery, near Heathfield in East Sussex, said potential shortages would force the brewery to cease production.

Another water-intensive industry, a farm in West Sussex, has said a deluge of water in the winter can create a "feast or famine" cycle which must be harnessed in order to battle dry spells.

Berry said: "Good weather means good sales, but we have the twin problem of being squeezed on the supply side when water is scarce."

He added: "It's something the whole industry should be thinking about.

"If we had a water outage it would be catastrophic."

For every pint of beer made, Berry estimates seven pints of water are used during production.

He said that, whilst the company had its own spring for some water, it still relied on mains supply for other parts of the process.

An amber heat health alert has been issued for the South East from 09:00 BST on Wednesday until 21:00 on Sunday, which could be the third heatwave of the year in the UK

Concern over water usage has increased during recent hot spells, and campaign group Let's Save Water is urging people to consider their daily habits.

It suggests making small changes such as shortening showers, fixing leaking taps and swapping a hose for a watering can.

It wants people to be mindful of the growing demand for water, and the effect climate change is having.

Meanwhile, Caroline Harriott, from Sompting in West Sussex, said problems with water can cause a "huge issue", given they cannot restrict how much their animals drink.

She added: "Our cows drink water, and the milk price has gone down but the water price has gone up.

"Where we can save water we will.

"If we are producing something then that price needs looking at so it is affordable for people to put food in the supermarket trolley."

Meanwhile, Prof Lizzie Kendon from the Met Office said climate change was "driving increasingly extreme weather patterns, with wetter winters, drier summers, and more intense bursts of rainfall".

She added: "By acting now and embracing small, everyday changes, we can help safeguard this precious resource for future generations."

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