Another week (at least) of bone-dry Britain ramps up threat of fresh hosepipe bans
WATER companies have been ‘strongly urged’ to introduce hosepipe bans, as the Met Office warned of a second heatwave and another parched week without rain.
Environment Secretary George Eustice called for more companies to introduce water restrictions amid the threat of a drought after the driest July since 1935.
Only three water companies out of 11 in England and Wales have announced a ban – which prevents people from watering gardens, washing cars or filling pools – despite no rain being forecast for at least seven days.
The Met Office said England and Wales will remain completely dry this week while temperatures are expected to exceed 30C again. Temperatures will climb from highs of 29C today to 30C on Tuesday and 32C on Wednesday, with a 40 per cent chance of highs of 35 degrees of more.
A Met Office spokesman said: ‘The whole of England and Wales looks entirely dry and increasingly hot and sunny. There is not going to be any rain in England and Wales until at least next Monday and even then, it’s uncertain given it’s a week away.
‘If we do see a change to something a little bit wetter, it’s unlikely to be widespread rain. It’s more likely to be showers, so hit and miss. But it will be at least a whole week of no rain.’
The combination of high temperatures and low rainfall is impacting water levels in reservoirs and campaigners say not enough is being done to ensure households do not run out of water.
Feargal Sharkey, the singer turned environmentalist, demanded Mr Eusban
‘Please don’t have barbecues’
tice does more and enforce a full hosepipe ban across the country.
‘I will be really surprised if there’s not a hosepipe ban throughout the whole of England within two weeks,’ he said. ‘If there is another dry winter, like last year, London is faced with the prospect of people at standpipes collecting water.
‘That’s how precarious the whole water supply has become.’
In the first public intervention from the Government, Mr Eustice called on more water companies to ban hosepipes to protect water supplies.
‘Water companies across the country have rightly taken action to mitigate the effects of this prolonged dry weather using the tools available,’ he wrote inThe Sunday Telegraph.
‘ I strongly urge others to do the same.’
On Friday, Southern Water became the first to impose a hosepipe ban for customers in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight.
If the situation deteriorates, households will have to collect water from tankers in the street.
South East Water will enforce a hosepipe ban from Friday for customers in Kent and Sussex, and Welsh Water has also announced a for Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire later this month.
Over the weekend, Thames Water asked customers in London to conserve water by using a can instead of a hose in the garden and by taking shorter showers.
The weather warnings come as 40 people had to be rescued from their homes in Chelmsford, Essex, on Saturday following a fire which damaged 15 houses and back gardens.
While the cause of the fire is unclear, fire chiefs warned people not to use a BBQ in the hot weather.
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service area manager Neil Fenwick said: ‘We’re strongly discouraging people from having any kinds of
fires. Please don’t have barbecues
or bonfires, don’t use fireworks or set off sky lanterns.’
A huge grass fire near Heathrow Airport forced 60 people to flee from their homes and sent plumes of black smoke across west London. About 70 firefighters were called to put out the blaze in Feltham yesterday afternoon. Footage on social media showed the blaze tearing through one back garden as firefighters battled to save an entire street.
Drought conditions in Europe have also seen river levels fall dramatically low – leading to the discovery of a 1,000lb (450kg) bomb from the Second World War near Mantua in northern Italy. It was only made safe by military experts yesterday after being located on July 25.