Welsh Water Customers Must Still Conserve Water as Hosepipe Ban Ends
The hosepipe ban has been in place since August 19th due to record-breaking summer heat.
Last updated 25th Oct 2022
Welsh Water is still warning its three million customers to try to avoid wasting water to allow its reservoirs to have the chance to refill fully over the winter.
The temporary use ban, also known as the hosepipe ban, has been in place since the 19th of August. Those served by the Llys-y-Fran reservoir near Haverford west and customers across Pembrokeshire and parts of Carmarthenshire will no longer be under this water usage restriction.
The restriction has been lifted with immediate effect.
Despite recent rainy spells across Wales, which have greatly helped low reservoir levels, the rain is not heavy enough or long-lasting enough to have a significant enough effect across all Welsh reservoirs. Reservoir levels across southeast Wales still continue to drop.
Whilst there is no significant rain in future forecasts, customers must still remain careful in their water use so as not to lead to wastage. Current forecasts are not enough to rise levels at reservoirs so more must be done to ensure levels will be high enough for the summer months.
Ian Christie is Managing Director of Water Services at Welsh Water and says “We are pleased that we are able to lift the hosepipe ban for our customers. We are also writing to our customers in the areas confirming the ban has been lifted.
“While this is good news, we are not out of the woods yet. Our reservoirs are dependent on rain to refill over the autumn and winter. Over the past six months, Wales has had one of the longest and driest periods on record and in September only saw 50% of the long-term average rainfall and our reservoir levels in some areas – particularly southeast Wales - are far lower than they would normally be at this time of year. The forecast for a drier than average autumn, with only limited rain expected in the immediate future is a concern.”