The boss of Wessex Water, which has warned of a ban on ‘non-essential’ water use, has a 40ft swimming pool at his £3 million home.
Colin Skellett, 77, earns £1 million a year for running a water company that loses 70 million litres of water a day due to faulty infrastructure.
As it struggles to stop the leaks, it is telling customers to watch their usage – even with advice on pools.
In a ‘water saving’ section of the website, it says: ‘Did you know? An average sized paddling pool needs around 200 litres to fill it up – that’s more than an average person normally uses in one day.’
It doesn’t say how much a swimming pool like Mr Skellett’s would take to fill. The advice adds: ‘Cover pools when they’re not in use to reduce evaporation … and reuse paddling pool water on your garden plants or lawn.
Water companies must publish drought plans to show how they will deal with extended dry weather and extreme heat, which the UK is now experiencing. Wessex Water recently updated theirs.
It says it will ban hosepikes and sprinklers in extended periods of dry weather, saying they must not be used for lawns, cars or swimming or paddling pools.
Read More: Water boss who warned of a ban for wasting water has 40ft swimming pool at his £3m home