‘No prospect’ of hosepipe bans as England sees wettest period since 1836

Water companies across the UK say they are not expecting to impose restrictions on usage this year following the wettest 18 months in almost two centuries.

In recent weeks several companies have resisted calls from Environment Agency chair Alan Lovell to implement more hosepipe bans which he sees as one of the few ways consumers see “the fragility of the system”.

Anglian recently confirmed it will not be implementing a ban, while South West has said it is “confident” there will be no need for restrictions in either Devon or Cornwall. Pennon, which owns South West, has also expressed confidence that there will be no need for hosepipe bans in its Bristol and Bournemouth regions.

The decision not to implement restrictions comes off the back of exceptionally high rainfall for England, with analysis of provisional Met Office figures showing 1,695.9mm of rain fell from October 2022 to March 2024 – the wettest 18-month period since it began collecting comparable data in 1836.

Weekly precipitation across England and Wales from end of December to beginning of March. (Source: Met Office © Crown Copyright, 2024).

In light of this, Utility Week contacted all the major water companies in the UK to ask if any of them would rule out restrictions on water usage.

Doug Clarke, water resources planning lead at Severn Trent, said: “Water resources are carefully and expertly managed throughout the year, so our customers have enjoyed their water supply with no need for a temporary usage ban in our region for over 30 years – we fully expect this to continue.

“As we go into Spring, our reservoirs are looking lovely and healthy, currently at 98% full, and with water being a precious resource we’d still always encourage everyone to think about how to use water wisely.”

A Wessex Water spokesperson said “there is currently no prospect of any restrictions”, adding that there has not been a hosepipe ban in its supply region since 1976. NI Water has expressed a similar view.

SES, which covers areas in the south east of England, said its “water resources are fully recharged” and that there are also no plans to implement water restrictions across its network.

“We are proud to have not had to implement a hosepipe ban within our supply area for over a decade. We will continue to update our customers with tips and advice on how they can continue to save water,” a spokesperson added.

Similarly Northumbrian, which also covers areas in Essex and Suffolk, as well as Thames and Affinity, do not anticipate restrictions being imposed in their respective regions this year.

Yorkshire Water meanwhile said that while it can never guarantee the weather in its region, its reservoirs and groundwater stocks “are as healthy as they can be after a very wet winter”.

Yet restrictions have not been completely ruled out by companies including Southern, South East, South Staffs and Scottish Water, with the first of these admitting there is a “very small chance” there could be an issue in Hampshire.

A Southern Water spokesperson explained to Utility Week: “All our reservoirs are full, and our groundwater sources are at their highest levels for ten years.

“If we face extreme weather conditions again this summer, like we did in Summer 2022, there is a very small chance we could face an issue in Hampshire, where we take our role in protecting the precious chalk streams of the Test and Itchen very seriously.

“Although we do not foresee any problems at this time, we will continue to hold regular drought readiness meetings in case.”

Similarly South East Water’s head of water resources warned about the impact of hot summers.

Nick Price told Utility Week: “As with last year, we do not expect there to be any shortage of raw water available for treatment but with the extended hot periods we have experienced in the South East in the last few summers, we haven’t always been able to treat and pump the water to our customers quickly enough during those periods of very high demand.

“This means that our cleaned water storage tanks are sometimes unable to refill fully overnight.”

Meanwhile Scottish Water said “it is too early to completely rule out any restrictions on customer usage”.

A spokesperson said: “We always expect and plan for reservoir levels falling during the year, so it is too early to completely rule out any restrictions on customer usage, especially if we have extended dry weather or disrupted autumn re-fill due to climate change variability. However, currently, we don’t expect to have to implement customer restrictions this year.”

Several water companies, including United Utilities, did not respond to Utility Week‘s request for comment before publication.

During the 2022 drought, six water companies were obliged to introduce temporary usage bans as the country faced weeks without rainfall.

Last year, just South East Water and South West Water had temporary use bans in place.

Despite many companies not anticipating restrictions this year, there are concerns about the impact that hot, dry weather will have on the country’s water resources.

Speaking to Utility Week, Waterwise chief executive Nicci Russell warned: “Experience in recent years has shown that even with very wet winters, there can be supply challenges right across the UK a matter of months later.

“The Environment Agency’s recent assessment shows that by 2050 England is looking at a possible shortfall of nearly 5 billion litres of water per day between the sustainable water supplies available and expected demand. Water efficiency and leakage reduction is expected to address over 65% of this shortfall by 2050, with a heavy reliance on reducing consumption over the next 10-15 years, before supply side schemes come on stream.

“Water companies are in the best position to know what their water resources will look like by and over the summer. Certainly it is true that where possible none of us should be wasting water, at home or at work.”

Speaking at the annual Waterwise conference in March, Environment Agency chair Alan Lovell said the dry summer of 2022 was “a warning shot fired and a wake-up call for what’s to come” and cautioned that the next drought is not far away.

Lovell pushed for more hosepipe bans. He said that although water companies do not like to impose temporary restrictions, he wants to see them used more as one of the few ways consumers see “the fragility of the system” and become conscious of their usage.