The announcement comes after the lack of rain, increasing demand and the Environment Agency placing the Thames area into its Prolonged Dry Weather category.
The Temporary Use Ban, will be effective from midnight on the 22nd of July, in areas with a postcode starting with OX, GL, SN and RG4, RG8 and RG9. Thames Water said prolonged hot weather meant there was less water available as well as a higher demand, with customers using up to 30% more water when temperatures were above 25C.
The ban does not affect London based customers, nor businesses where hosepipe use is part of their purpose, such as garden centres, but they are instructed by Thames Water to be “mindful” of water use.
Nevil Muncaster, Thames Water’s Strategic Water Resources Director, said: “This has been a challenging spring and summer with big spikes in customer demand during hot dry days and very little rainfall to replenish local supplies in the Thames Valley. Given the continued warm, dry weather we do not anticipate that the situation will improve any time soon so we have to take action now. Every drop of water we use comes from the environment and we have to balance protecting this while taking out the water needed to top-up reservoir levels. That is why we have had to make to the difficult decision to implement a hosepipe ban to make sure there’s enough water for customers’ essential needs and to protect rivers.”
In addition to the ban on hosepipe usage, Thames Water urge customers to reduce their water use, which includes “turning the taps off while brushing teeth, taking shorter showers and letting your lawn go dry.”
