Decision on a hosepipe ban in “next few days”, say Thames Water
The water supplier says it’s monitoring the situation closely
Thames Water say it will make a decision on whether to impose a hosepipe ban in the “next few days”, as there's huge strain on water resources due to prolonged hot weather and heatwaves.
The water firm say if a temporary usage ban is imposed, it will give “sufficient water to get through to the autumn”.
The UK has had one of the warmest and driest springs in over a century and the Environment Agency has placed the region into the ‘Prolonged Dry Weather’ category, meaning there is an increased risk of drought.
Nevil Muncaster, Strategic Water Resources Director at Thames Water said: “We're now officially in a period of prolonged dry weather and we can't see an end to it, as it's set to continue with some very hot days coming.
“What we know as a water company is that when the temperature gets above 25 degrees, then usage goes up by 30%. When that's sustained, it puts great stress on the water we've got.”
"We'll be making a final decision in the next few days"
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, Mr Muncaster also said: “We monitor the systems very closely. We've got very extensive models which look at the future states and we believe now that with the water we've got available, if we put a temporary usage ban in as well, then that will give us sufficient water to get through to the autumn when we expect rain to come.”
He added: “We'll be making a final decision in the next few days and then once we've done that, we have to give notice. Then we can impose the temporary use ban, which will likely take the next couple of weeks.”
Yorkshire water has been the first firm to impose water usage restrictions which come into effect from today, as a third heat wave in four weeks hits the UK.
Thames Water is urging residents to save water during the summer to help deal with the stress on water.
A spokesperson for the company said: “Our top tips include taking shorter showers, turning the tap off while brushing teeth and letting your lawn go dry.
“This can help reduce big increases in demand and also help the environment.”