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Thames Water has announced a hosepipe ban for several areas in an effort to preserve water following persistent dry and warm weather.
The ban will come into place across parts of Swindon, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire on Tuesday July 22, as a lack of rain and increased demand stretched the water supply, the water group said on Monday.
The Temporary Use Ban means customers living in affected areas are asked not to use hosepipes for activities such as washing cars, watering gardens and allotments or filling swimming pools.
Water companies across England have already warned of hosepipe bans this summer, as a lack of rainfall has seen reservoir levels fall to their lowest this decade.
“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,” said Neil Muncaster, strategic water resources director at Thames Water.
“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,” he added.
The country has experienced the driest spring in more than a century, and the warmest June on record.
The Environment Agency has already declared a state of prolonged dry weather in parts of Surrey, Berkshire and Oxfordshire.
Thames Water said the warm weather was causing a lack of flow in the Thames, impacting the amount of water that can be pumped into Farmoor Reservoir that supplies the area. The reservoir was 95 per cent full in June, which is below average for the time of year.
The ban does not affect businesses where water is central to operations, such as garden centres and car washes.
The water group did not provide an end date for the restrictions, stating it would depend on the weather.