South-west England may face water restrictions, says water firm

Water restrictions could be introduced in south-west England this summer, a utility company has said.

South West Water (SWW) said it could bring in such rules if there was more "exceptional demand" and longer spells of dry weather.

Water levels at some of its reservoirs are understood to be below the level of the previous drought year in 1995.

SWW said it would monitor the situation but it may have to bring in "formal restrictions over the coming weeks".

The utility firm said at the end of July it saw demand go up "by 77 million litres in one day - the same as supplying three extra cities the size of Exeter".

"If the exceptional levels of demand and sustained dry weather continues, we may have to make the difficult decision to introduce formal restrictions over the coming weeks," SWW added.

Analysis

By David Braine, BBC senior weather forecaster

It is not just July that has been dry. Since the start of the year, all months apart from February have seen less than the average seasonal rainfall.

For south-west England, totals for the first six months of the year are about 30% below their long-term average.

The lack of rainfall is significant when looking back over the years as the eight-month period from November 2021 to June 2022 has been the driest in England since 1975/76.

But we cannot compare too closely to the famous drought year of 1976, since we have already had about a third more rain so far than in 1976.

The combination of strong sunshine, high temperatures - Bude saw 36C (97F) on 18 July - and low rainfall, means any rain is likely to quickly evaporate on very dry ground.

Evaporation in sunshine is also removing water from resources such as reservoirs.

Southern Water customers in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight face a hosepipe ban from Friday.

Similar measures are also set to be imposed by South East Water on people across Kent and Sussex from 12 August.

The firm said it "had no choice" following the driest July on record, and rule-breakers could be hit with a £1,000 fine.

South West Water covers Devon and Cornwall, plus parts of Dorset and Somerset.