Wessex Water has introduced a hosepipe ban for the first time in its history as the UK continues to suffer from drought.
The water firm said the temporary use ban will come into effect from midnight on Tuesday for all 1.4 million customers that it supplies with water across areas in Bath, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire.
The company said its water supply network is facing increasing pressure amid record levels of demand combined with ongoing hot conditions and no significant rain forecast for the area.
Wessex Water’s ban means that more than 27 million people across England currently have their hosepipe use restricted.
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Wessex Water’s Chief Executive Ruth Jefferson said the decision to put a ban in place comes from a combination of increased demand for water during the ongoing dry weather and longer-term forecasts.
She said: “After 50 years without a hosepipe ban in the Wessex Water region, the first since the famous drought of 1976, this isn’t a decision we’ve made lightly and we’re sorry for the inconvenience it will cause.
“We know so many of our customers have already been taking steps to save water and we’re incredibly grateful for their support so far this summer. It makes such a difference.
“But the prolonged and extreme dry weather has meant demand across our region has consistently remained at more than 400 million litres per day, 30 per cent above average for this time of year and the equivalent of almost half a million hosepipes running for a full hour every day.”
She continued: “While we’re not running out of water for essential use, our challenge has been moving water through the network quickly enough to meet these record levels of demand.
“This also has an impact on our underground storage reservoirs, which normally replenish with treated water quickly.”
More to follow…
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