Hosepipe ban for millions: Third of homes in the country will face restrictions within weeks
Rainfall has been too low for nearly two years in some areas
For some parts this has been the driest winter since records began
Twenty million homes will be hit with hosepipe bans tomorrow to cope with the worsening drought, the Daily Mail can reveal.
Water companies in the South and East of England, where rainfall has been too low for nearly two years, will announce restrictions affecting one in three homes in the UK. Other areas could soon follow.
The move follows months of concern about the arid conditions, which have seen rivers run dry and reservoirs at record low levels.
Caution: Rainfall has been too low for nearly two years in many areas so water companies will restrict hosepipe use
Drying out: Bewl Water, Kent, where the water level has dropped dramatically
In some areas, this has been the driest winter since records began a century or more ago, and weeks of sustained rainfall would be needed to get levels back to normal.
However yesterday was the second hottest day of the year and the Met Office says most of this week will be sunny and dry. It is not forecasting any significant rainfall in drought-affected areas over the next month.
Portsmouth Water and Sutton and East Surrey Water may also announce restrictions this month.
Currently 14 counties in the South, the East and the Midlands are officially in drought. Tomorrow’s announcement coincides with an Environment Agency report which will add the rest of the Midlands and Yorkshire to the area at ‘high risk’ of summer drought.
The first step companies can take is restricting the use of hosepipes and sprinklers for washing cars and watering gardens. Those who flout a hosepipe ban face a £1,000 fine.
Caps on non-essential business use such as watering golf courses, cleaning pavements and car washes could follow.
There are fears that the restrictions could affect this summer’s Olympic Games and officials are said to be drawing up contingency plans.
An Environment Agency spokesman would not comment on when water restrictions could be introduced but said: ‘Hosepipe bans are very effective at cutting water usage, especially in the summer months, as 50 per cent of water use is domestic.’
Levels of groundwater – which is needed to fill underground aquifers – are low at three-quarters of sites measured by the Environment Agency.
Reservoirs at Ardingley in West Sussex and Bewl in Kent are ‘exceptionally low’ at just 41 per cent of capacity, although some rivers returned to normal levels after rain last week.
Helen Vale, national drought co-ordinator at the agency said: ‘Although river flows have increased slightly, the water underground is still exceptionally low for this time of year. Everyone must play their part by using water wisely.
‘Our drought prospects report will provide the outlook for water resources over the summer and what that will mean for abstractors, wildlife and public water supplies.’
The past months have seen fish dying in low rivers, cereal and potato crops affected, and wildlife habitats destroyed.
Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, parts of Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire and west Norfolk have officially been in drought since last summer. Last month the South East was also declared to be in drought. This includes London, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire, eastern Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Hampshire, East and West Sussex, Surrey and Kent.
Anglian Water has seen the lowest rainfall, receiving just two-thirds of the long-term average last year.
Spokesman Ciaran Nelson said yesterday: ‘We’re prepared for dry weather here in the east but we could never have anticipated the incredibly low rainfall that has left rivers at such low levels, and prevented us filling our reservoirs at the time of year when we need them to be topped up. To recover from a situation like this will take months of persistent rain.’
Southern Water said it had had the driest ten months since 1888.
A Thames Water spokesman said: ‘We can’t make it rain but we can do our bit to use a little less water.
‘Switching off the tap while brushing your teeth saves six litres and a minute less in a shower saves ten.’ Veolia Water said: ‘The last eighteen months have been exceptionally dry, so we really are seeing challenging times.’
While south, eastern and central areas have seen low rainfall, in the north west, parts of the west and Scotland it has been plentiful over the past few months with rivers bursting their banks.
Alex Neil, the Scottish Infrastructure Secretary, wrote to UK ministers last week offering to provide drought-hit England with water.
He said: ‘With Scotland’s plentiful supply of water and superb industry expertise, it is only right we offer our assistance in the long term,’ although he conceded there were ‘huge logistical issues’.
Fire crews in drought-affected areas have been asked to cancel charity car washes, which raise tens of thousands of pounds.
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