South East Water bosses said a hosepipe ban is set to come across Kent and Sussex due to record demand for drinking water.
Areas of the region have been left with little or no water this week amid the hot weather, forcing schools to shut down and residents to get drinking water from bottled water stations.
A plea to use only essential water has stretched from Haywards Heath in West Sussex to Whitstable in Kent.
South East Water said despite providing an extra 120 million litres of water a day, demand in June had broken records, including from the COVID lockdown heatwave.
Last summer, a heatwave led to a drought in most of England, with a few areas still recovering.
On top of today’s announcement, Devon, Cornwall, and the Isles of Scilly still have some form of hosepipe ban in place.
Jimmy Nsubuga
A hosepipe ban has been extended across large parts of Cornwall and Devon. (Getty)
South East Water bosses said a hosepipe ban is set to come across Kent and Sussex due to record demand for drinking water.
Areas of the region have been left with little or no water this week amid the hot weather, forcing schools to shut down and residents to get drinking water from bottled water stations.
A plea to use only essential water has stretched from Haywards Heath in West Sussex to Whitstable in Kent.
The temporary ban on hosepipes and sprinklers will come in on June 26.
Sprinklers are included in a hosepipe ban. (Getty)
South East Water said despite providing an extra 120 million litres of water a day, demand in June had broken records, including from the COVID lockdown heatwave.
Last summer, a heatwave led to a drought in most of England, with a few areas still recovering.
On top of today’s announcement, Devon, Cornwall, and the Isles of Scilly still have some form of hosepipe ban in place.
The Dynamic Nature of Hosepipe Bans
South East Water’s chief executive David Hinton said: “This situation has developed much more rapidly than last year. Understandably, customer demand has increased in line with the hotter weather. However, this has impacted our ability always to keep all customers in supply.”
Several schools within South East Water’s region have been forced to close due to a lack of drinking water.
Mark Cross Church of England Primary School in Crowborough said it could not open to all-year groups because of reduced sanitary facilities and no running water.
A hosepipe ban could be introduced as early as Friday by Britain’s largest water company, covering London and much of the south-east of England after a drought is declared across eight areas of England on Friday.
Areas in the UK with Hosepipe Bans
Thames Water is “ready to go” with its hosepipe ban, according to its strategy and regulatory affairs director, Cathryn Ross, who said there was a process for introducing a ban. Still, it could be bypassed if an official drought declaration is made on Friday.
“We have to wait and see what the government says and entirely what that means, possibly even later today. I don’t know; we will consider that,” she told BBC Breakfast. “But, as you probably noticed, at Thames Water, we’ve been querying our customers since late May to respond to the hot and dry weather and take steps to use water wisely.
“Before we introduce the ban itself, we need to be ready with all of our communications for people right the way across the region, so we’re clear for everybody what they can do, what they can’t do, and if they’re having any issues how to contact us. We are ready to do that.”
Long-term Solutions to Avoid Bans
Yorkshire Water has become the fifth water company in England and Wales to report a hosepipe ban owing to the hot and dry state. The company, which has over 5 million customers, said the restrictions would be effective from August 26.
On Friday, a hosepipe ban occurred for about 1.4 million South East Water customers in Kent and Sussex.
The National Drought Group, comprised of government and agency officials, water companies and other groups such as the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), is due to meet on Friday to debate the prolonged dry weather.
There are expectations that a drought could be declared for the worst-affected areas of England, in the south and east, after the arid July on record for some regions and the driest first half of the year since 1976.
As a result, the Environment Agency and water companies would implement further plans to manage the impacts of low water levels, which can comprise actions such as hosepipe bans.
