Desalination to restart as reservoir levels drop

Jersey Water has called on islanders to keep conserving water as reservoir levels drop with the island's total water storage currently at just 57% and "falling quickly".

The firm said it had decided to restart the desalination plant and would continue to monitor the situation closely.

It said the plant had already run for two months this year and helped boost water supplies by more than 200 million litres.

Mark Bowden, the firm's head of water resilience and emergency planning, said: "After such a dry spring and summer, if we don't get sufficient rain before the end of the year, it could put us in a really difficult position going into 2027."

Listen to the latest news for Jersey

He said: "While we've had some rain, there is still a long way to go before the reservoirs recover."

Bowden said: "Over the summer, we asked customers to make small changes to how they use water.

"Those changes meant that our resources have lasted longer and we haven't needed to introduce any restrictions.

"We really want that to continue, and we thank everyone for their actions, as those small changes have made a big difference.

"Once again, we are asking people to reduce their usage as much possible to help preserve our island's supply."

Follow BBC Jersey on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.

Household water bills set to increase in 2027

Plant makes 5.5m extra litres of drinking water