A UK water company has put a hosepipe ban in place as temperatures begin to spike, with households across the country advised to limit their use.
South East Water has put an official temporary hosepipe use ban in place, covering much of the Kent region. Other areas served by the company – Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire and Sussex (both East and West) – have also been advised to pause all use.
A hosepipe ban is different to an advisory notice. Anyone caught breaching an official ban can be issued with a fine of up to £1,000.
The total amount of water treated by the South East Water on Sunday was 644 million litres, the company said – 56 million litres higher than the entire June average (588 million litres).
It comes as the Met Office recorded a provisional outdoor high of 36.1C at Gosport in Hampshire on Wednesday, beating the previous top temperature of 35.6C set in 1976, as the record was broken four times in a day.
South East Water is currently the only company to issue an official ban. However, Wessex Water has asked its customers to limit their use, writing on social media: “Grass is tougher than it looks. It naturally copes during hot, dry spells and will bounce back quickly when the rain returns.
“With the warmer weather returning, it's an easy way to save water and it can even help reduce weeds too.”
Affinity Water, which serves several areas outside of Greater London, has also asked its customers to “use water wisely this week”.
A red alert is a request for customers to use water for essential reasons only, rather than an enforced hosepipe ban with a fine attached. No official hosepipe bans are yet in place.
Several health alerts have been put in place as temperatures rise, with the Met Office issuing a rare red weather warning covering areas including London, Swansea, Somerset and Birmingham from 9am on Wednesday to 9pm on Thursday.
An amber weather warning for heat also spans all of Wales and England as far north as Blackpool between Monday and Thursday.
Met Office deputy chief forecaster Mark Sidaway, said: “Red warnings are reserved for the most severe events and we’re expecting severe and significant impacts from this heatwave, with health impacts likely for many, even beyond those who are normally more vulnerable to the heat.
“As well as very high daytime temperatures, there will be consecutive nights where temperatures do not drop below 20C, which is called a tropical night. This will make it very hard for people to recover from the daytime heat, exacerbating the heat stress impacts.”
All households have been urged to limit their water usage during the heatwave. National Drought Group chair and director of water at the Environment Agency, Helen Wakeham, said: “We enter summer in a generally favourable position, but we can never be complacent ahead of those crucial drier months.
“Heatwaves will continue to be a concern as they can drive spikes in water demand, so we need to continue to work collaboratively to use our finite water wisely.
“While many of us enjoy the hot weather, we ask everyone to be mindful of their water use. Every drop saved leaves more available for farmers, our local rivers and wildlife.”
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