As Britain’s dry period persists, a second hosepipe restriction that would affect millions more households in South East England beginning next Friday was announced today.
According to South East Water, there will be restrictions on the use of sprinklers and hosepipes starting on August 12 in Kent and Sussex.
The provider estimates that the prohibition will affect about 2.2 million consumers throughout the counties because this summer’s water consumption has surpassed all historical highs.
The second UK water company to implement a hosepipe ban so far this summer is South East Water, which lost 88.7 million litres of water per day due to leaky pipes last year.
This Friday marks the start of a ban that Southern Water announced last week will affect nearly a million of its customers in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
This will prohibit the use of hosepipes to wash automobiles or water gardens, as well as the filling of ornamental ponds and private swimming pools.
A court fine of up to £1,000 and prosecution are possible consequences for violating the restriction.
The Daily Mail yesterday obtained an internal South East Water briefing on the new ban’s plans, in which it was stated that other water firms may follow suit because they are “really looking hard on their positions.”
As the hot, dry weather persists, the company has already requested that its customers voluntarily turn off their sprinkler and hosepipe systems.
The use of a hosepipe or sprinkler will be prohibited starting on Friday, August 12, for our customers in Kent and Sussex, South East Water announced in a press release today.
“The UK has experienced a period of extreme weather.”
According to official statistics, this July is the driest on record since 1935, and the eight months from November 2021 to July 2022 have been the driest stretch since 1976.
Only 8% of the monthly normal rainfall has fallen in the South East so far in July, and similar weather is predicted for August and September in the long term.
This summer’s water demand has surpassed all prior highs, including the Covid lockdown heatwave.
In order to supply our customers, we have been producing an additional 120 million litres of water per day, which is equal to supplying four additional towns the size of Maidstone or Eastbourne each day.
We have no choice but to limit the usage of hosepipes and sprinklers throughout our Kent and Sussex supply area beginning at 0:01 am on Friday, August 12 until further notice.
“We are taking this action to ensure that there is adequate water for both essential consumption and environmental protection.”
“This will allow us to reduce the quantity of water we need to extract from local water sources, which are already under pressure.”
We are clearly in a very dry and warm time, and the prognosis indicates that this may extend for a number of weeks, according to Lee Dance, head of water resources at South East Water, who made this statement last week.
“We have been attentively examining the current situation and evaluating the potential of limits and other actions,” Mr. Dance continued.
We may need to impose more formal bans if our analysis shows that voluntary reductions in water use will not allow us to preserve supplies of water for important uses or to protect the environment.
Thames Water is the most well-known water supplier that has made suggestions that a hosepipe restriction this summer might potentially be implemented.
In a statement issued last week, the company warned that, “If we do not have around or above average precipitation in the next months, this will put pressure on our resources and may, in fact, result in the need for greater water-saving measures, including limitations.”
Since records began in 1836, the Met Office in southern England said this week that July was the driest month.
An average of only 5mm (0.2in) of rain fell in the South-East and Central Southern England last month, while only 5.4mm of rain fell in East Anglia (0.21ins).
With the exception of the North-West, the majority of England has entered a state of “prolonged dry weather.”
The Environment Agency has referred to this as “the first stage of a drought,” which raises the possibility of restrictions like hosepipe bans.
Last week, a hosepipe ban was also issued by the Isle of Man, and Welsh Water has indicated that a similar restriction may need to be implemented in Pembrokeshire.