Thames Water has officially announced a hosepipe ban affecting 10.1 million customers, a decision driven by what the operator described as an exceptionally warm and dry spring. The new restrictions, which take effect this Thursday, prohibit the use of hosepipes for tasks such as watering gardens or allotments, cleaning vehicles, filling swimming or paddling pools, hot tubs, or cleaning windows and patios.
The company noted that its region has received only 40% of its average rainfall and has experienced more days at or above 34C this year than ever before recorded.
Nevil Muncaster, the director of strategic water resources at Thames Water, emphasized that this measure is necessary to protect water supplies for the public and the environment. While the company maintains that there is sufficient water for essential needs like drinking, cooking, washing, and hygiene, the ban aims to curb non-essential outdoor demand.
Thames Water provides water and wastewater services to 16 million customers in total. Current usage levels are reported at 10% above normal in the Thames Valley and Home Counties and 7% higher in London, which the company stated amounts to an extra 100 million litres of water consumed every day.
The company explained that recent heatwaves have caused water to be used faster than it can be treated and moved through parts of the network, placing significant pressure on local supplies. Muncaster noted that teams are working 24/7 to fix leaks and keep water moving, adding that the situation will be kept under close review, with restrictions lifted when it is safe to do so.
Although the ban is broad, there are specific exemptions, including where water use is necessary for health and safety reasons or for customers with severe mobility problems.
Furthermore, plants and gardens can still be watered with a watering can, and cars can be washed using a bucket. Animal welfare needs, including for pets, livestock, and fish, remain exempt, as does the watering of food crops and certain newly planted trees.
Thames Water, which currently carries approximately £20bn in debt, is facing a complex financial situation. The government recently rejected a rescue proposal, and it is understood that the firm's main lenders are preparing a legal challenge in case the new Andy Burnham-led government decides to take the company into public hands.
The current restrictions apply to all customers that Thames Water supplies with drinking water across parts of Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Surrey, the Thames Valley, Greater London, and surrounding areas.
The water crisis is not limited to Thames Water. South East Water has announced that a hosepipe ban currently in force in Kent will be extended to parts of Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, and Berkshire starting Saturday. Other operators, including Southern Water, which affects about one million customers across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and South West Water, covering Mid Devon and other parts of the county and Lyme Regis in Dorset, have also implemented bans.
Additionally, a ban affecting 33,000 properties in west Wales was introduced last weekend by Welsh Water, while Cambridge Water, Anglian Water, and Affinity Water have implemented temporary use bans across the East of England. A lack of measurable rainfall for more than four weeks in some parts of southern England has been a major contributing factor to these widespread measures.
Correction: The earlier figure in this story has been amended to 10 million because only Thames Water's water supply customers, and not waste water customers, are affected.
South East Water hosepipe ban to affect 2.4 million people
