A hospeipe ban is now in place for part of the south of England with another coming into force on Friday - and three more water authorities already warning that bans could be introduced across the country. The temperature is set to rise through the week hitting 35C by Friday, with no significant rain forecast.
But there are fears that hosepipe bans may not help - because the rules still allow people to do a lot of things you may think are banned. Southern Water has already brought in restrictions for 3.5million people with South East Water enforcing bans from Friday.
But the Telegraph says exceptions to the rules are creating confusion. South East Water, for example, allows people to continue using a hosepipe to water their lawn if the turf has been laid within 28 days.
You can't use a hosepipe to fill a swimming pool or spa - but you can use it to fill a hot tub. And you can use a hosepipe to wash out a wheelie bin - or to clean a boat or plant pots.
Caroline Gould, South East Water’s head of legal, told the Telegraph: “The restrictions under the Water Industry Act 1991 apply to domestic swimming and paddling pools, not hot tubs. We believe that this is due to hot tubs at the time being viewed more as baths, which are not a restricted activity.”
Water campaigner Feargal Sharkey said: “There’s so many caveats it might as well not exist.”
For England as a whole it was the driest eight-month period, between November 2021 and June 2022, since the drought year of 1976.
That has been followed by the driest July since 1935 for England, while some southern and eastern parts of the country have seen the lowest rainfall on record for the month in data stretching back to 1836.
This week, southern England is facing more heatwave conditions, and forecasts cannot yet predict if there will be meaningful rainfall for the areas that need it next week, the Met Office has said.
Southern Water’s restrictions for customers in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight started last week and South East Water’s ban for Kent and Sussex comes into force on Friday.
A company does not require any approvals to restrict uses of water but must run a period of public notice and allow for representations to be made before the restrictions come into force.
Other companies have warned that they could also bring in restrictions if the dry conditions continue.
And households are being urged to avoid unnecessary water use, swapping the hosepipe for a watering can even where there is no ban, taking shorter showers and letting lawns go brown.
The last time drought was declared was in 2018.
Other notable droughts took place in 1975 to 1976, 1989 to 1992, 1995 to 1996, 2004 to 2006 and 2010 to 2012.
A severe drought occurred from May 1975 to August 1976, when a dry winter in 1975-76 was followed by an intensely hot, dry summer.
The Met Office has said that despite the dry trend in 2022, England has had 30% more rain over the first six months of the year than it did 46 years ago.
Water companies are warning that there needs to be sufficient rain this autumn and winter – when less is absorbed by growing plants – in order to recharge groundwater and reservoirs before next year.
A second dry winter could significantly worsen the situation.
