Wessex Water announces hosepipe ban for first time in 50 years

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.

Wessex Water has become the latest utility to announce a hosepipe ban after weeks of hot and dry weather have plunged large parts of the country into 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.

It marks the first time in 50 years that Wessex Water has introduced a ban, having last put one in place during the infamous hot summer of 1976.

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.

The decision comes off the back of the UK’s fifth heatwave of the summer, which saw the hottest day of the year recorded in Kew Gardens, London, on Thursday when temperatures reached 38.1C.

Land is parched across vast areas of the country, with weeks of extreme heat and little rainfall bringing severe impacts to wildlife, farmers and emergency services as they battle wildfires.

Fresher conditions are finally expected this week, with rain and even thunderstorms possible in some parts of the UK.

But Met Office meteorologists say some areas may not see any of the wetter weather.

Ruth Jefferson, Wessex Water’s chief executive, 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.

Mrs Jefferson 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% above average for this time of year and the equivalent of almost half a million hosepipes running for a full hour every day.

“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.”

Wessex Water said it is contacting larger business customers who are high water users to encourage them to avoid non-essential use.

It is also encouraging households to make small and simple changes during the ongoing dry spell to ensure water supplies and the environment are protected.

These include letting the lawn go brown, using watering cans to water plants, keeping showers short and not washing the car.

In the meantime, warm conditions continue in many areas on Monday, with a yellow heat health alert extended until 9am on Tuesday for the South East, South West, and London.

Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: “I can’t promise rain for all of us through the week ahead, but in the south at least, it’s looking like the most changeable week we’ve seen here – well at least since the end of June.”

A jet stream which has been far in the north of the UK has allowed high pressure to dominate, causing the recent excessively hot conditions, Mr Morgan said.

Mr Morgan said it would travel south, meaning that low pressure will dominate, adding: “So a much more changeable and at times unsettled outlook through the middle part of the week – low pressure will dominate and slowly drift its way southwards.”

Showers are expected to become more widespread on Thursday with a mix of sunshine and rain earlier in the week, according to the Met Office.

Wildfires have ravaged parts of the UK, including in the West Midlands, where a blaze in Stourbridge destroyed 19 homes.

Several fire services have uploaded statements asking people to only call 999 to report a genuine emergency.