A hosepipe ban covering 2.4 million people across southern England has been expanded by South East Water after record-breaking June temperatures left reservoirs critically low.
The ban now includes parts of Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire – an extra 1.5 million customers on top of a restriction already in place in Kent since 3 July. Under the rules, households cannot use a hosepipe for cleaning, filling ponds or watering plants. The ban officially begins at 00:01 BST on Saturday, but the company has asked customers to comply immediately.
“South East Water expands hosepipe ban to 2.4 million across four counties after record June heat.”
Douglas Whitfield, South East Water’s water supply director, said the company was “deeply sorry” and “incredibly grateful to everyone helping us protect water supplies” after exceptionally hot and dry weather. But the apology did little to placate local politicians and businesses.
Eastbourne MP Josh Babarinde said he was “appalled”, describing the ban as “the direct result of years of underinvestment in upgrading infrastructure and building resilience”. His anger was echoed by Toby Cooper, landlord of The Bull in Tunbridge Wells, who said he had to close on Saturday evening, losing between £5,000 and £6,000 in trade. “We understand there can be issues in infrastructure but this is the third time in a year that we’ve had to close due to a lack of water,” Cooper said. “It’s getting very frustrating especially for a small business where every penny counts.”
The crisis follows a spell of extreme weather: the UK record for the hottest day in June was broken three days in a row last month, with temperatures reaching 37.3C, the Met Office said. The region has received only 55% of its average rainfall since March, and Wisley in Surrey has had no significant rain for 31 days. South East Water, which relies on reservoirs, said levels at Arlington Reservoir in East Sussex had dropped to the point where its drought plan required restrictions.
The company’s financial woes have compounded the problem. It was ordered to spend £30.5m on improvements after investigations by industry watchdog Ofwat, and warned in its annual report that it needed fresh financing to stay afloat after taking a £55m hit from outages over the winter.
Mike Keil, chief executive of the Consumer Council for Water, said South East Water had “a responsibility to get a grip of its network”. He added: “People in the area are sick to death of living under a constant cloud of uncertainty as to whether their taps will keep running and it also undermines customers’ own motivation to save water.”
The ban raises questions about how the region will cope if the dry spell continues, with no significant rainfall forecast and reservoirs already at drought-plan levels.