First hosepipe ban since 2012 'not taken lightly' says Anglian Water
Around seven million customers are affected
Anglian Water has said it's struggled to tell people in the East of England they can't use their hosepipe for the first time in 14 years.
The ban - which started on Saturday - will affect around seven million of its customers.
It's in response to long spells of dry weather and rising temperatures, which the company said has put pressure on supply levels.
"Implementing the hosepipe ban for customers has been a difficult decision to make and not one that has been made lightly," Geoff Darch, head of strategic asset planning at Anglian Water, said.
"Protecting our customer supply and resilience means doing everything we can to limit our non-essential water use as much as possible."
Anglian Water - which serves customers in parts of Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire and Suffolk - said water is being used faster than it can be replaced naturally in rivers and reservoirs.
The company said its teams are treating and supplying around 30% more water than usual, as well as finding and fixing leaks faster and investing money into improving drought resilience.
What you can and can't do under a hosepipe ban
People are being told not to use their hosepipe for things such as:
- Watering your garden
- Watering plants
- Washing your car
- Cleaning patios and driveways
- Cleaning walls and windows
- Filling paddling pools, swimming pools or hot tubs
- Filling ponds and ornamental fountains
- Cleaning private leisure boats
- Using sprinklers and pressure washers connected to mains water supply
- Anyone caught using a hosepipe under the ban could be fined up to ÂŁ1,000.
Anglian Water says you can continue to water gardens and grow fruit and vegetables using a watering can, bucket, water from a water butt or a drip or trickle irrigation system if:
- it is fitted with a timer or a pressure reducing valve
- it is not handheld
- it delivers water directly to the soil or plant roots
'Supply and demand' challenge
"It's (the heat) putting pressure on the environment and our water resources, and we're now seeing most rivers in our region at low levels and our reservoirs are also less full for this time of year," Mr Darch said.
"Every day, sustained hot weather increases the challenge of balancing supply and demand.
"Hang up your hosepipes to protect the environment and to ensure there is enough water for everyone; in 10 minutes, (hosepipes) they can use more than the average person uses in an entire day."
Meanwhile, Cambridge Water - which supplies drinking water to more than 350,000 customers - is enforcing its own hosepipe ban for the first time in 30 years on Friday, July 17.
“We have been doing everything possible to maintain supplies, but demand for water is currently at record levels, so we really need your help,” Elena Karpathakis, managing director at Cambridge Water, said:
“We know how important reliable water supplies are to the communities we serve, and we are asking customers to work with us to reduce non-essential water use while this period of exceptionally hot and dry weather continues.”
It is unclear when both bans will come to an end.