Millions of households face hosepipe ban as one of UK’s biggest firms warns supplies are on the brink

The Environment Agency has declared parts of southeast England as in a period of ‘prolonged dry weather’ after low rainfall

Thames Water is urging residents to refrain from watering their lawn during the shortages (Alamy/PA)

A water company has warned it will have to announce a hosepipe ban affecting millions of people unless the current water shortages improve “significantly”.

Thames Water urged customers to limit the amount of water they use to avoid the need for restrictions.

They said supplies had been stretched by a lack of rain and increasing demand for water in the heat of the last few months.

“The ongoing dry weather and increased customer demand is impacting our water supplies across the Thames Valley,” it said.

“Unless the situation changes significantly, we will need to put usage restrictions, including a hosepipe ban, in place to ensure taps keep running for customers’ essential use.”

Yorkshire Water announced a hosepipe ban on Tuesday (AP)

They said the demand for water in the Swindon and Oxfordshire areas peaked on 30 June at levels on par with the 2022 drought.

The firm urged customers to shorten the time they spend in showers, turn off the taps and let lawns go dry.

Yorkshire Water announced the first UK hosepipe ban of the summer on Tuesday, with the firm warning that higher water demand had left the region’s reservoirs at 55.8 per cent full, which is 26.1 per cent lower than they would normally be at this time of year.

In a video on social media site X (Twitter), the Environment Agency for southeast England said there had only been around 50 per cent of the expected rainfall over the past three months.

They declared a state of “prolonged dry weather” across most of the non-tidal Thames area, which includes large parts of Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Surrey.

“Over the last few months, we have had lower than average rainfall, which is now impacting some of our surface and groundwater bodies,” said Tom Entwistle, a local agency official.

“Our teams are working closely with water companies and other abstractors to provide advice on water availability and we ask that you carefully consider your individual water use, as small individual reductions add up to make a big difference to reducing the pressure on our valuable water resources and the environment.”

England has been battling soaring temperatures in recent months, with highs nearing 35C and at least two heatwaves.

A National Drought Group meeting convened in June found that England had experienced its driest March, April and May since 1893.

Several areas have already been designated as suffering prolonged dry weather, while droughts have been declared in northwest England and Yorkshire.