Hosepipe ban starts as drought declared in south-west Wales

Pembrokeshire now has a hosepipe ban because of low water levels

A drought has been officially declared in parts of Wales after an extended period of dry weather and low rainfall caused water levels to plummet.

South-west Wales has seen just 65.5% of its average rainfall for July with rivers now running "exceptionally low", Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said.

It comes as the first hosepipe ban in Wales for more than 30 years is also now in force.

The ban covers Pembrokeshire and parts of Carmarthenshire.

It means people will not be allowed to water their plants or wash their cars using a hose.

Gardener Karen Hilton, who has an allotment in Narberth, Pembrokeshire, believed her onions and broccoli were smaller than expected because of the lack of rain.

Karen Hilton says allotment holders have been doing rain dances

She said the hosepipe ban meant she would be using her watering can more often.

Allotment holders had, she said, "all been doing rain dances."

"We'll be looking to see what vegetables were ok and what did not survive," she added.

"And we'll have to learn to plant veg that are more drought-tolerant."

NRW said the threshold to trigger drought status in south-west Wales was met on Friday with the country experiencing its driest five-month period, between March and July, in 40 years.

It said the decision was taken along with the Welsh government's Drought Liaison Group due to the impact the prolonged heatwave had wreaked on the environment, particularly rivers and reservoirs.

The ban covers much of Pembrokeshire and a small part of Carmarthenshire

The drought-affected areas are:

• Ceredigion (Rheidol, Aeron, Ystwyth)

• River Teifi

• Pembrokeshire (Cleddau River)

• Carmarthen (Tywi and Taf)

• Swansea and Llanelli (Tawe and Loughor)

• Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend (Neath, Afan, Ogmore)

Natalie Hall of NRW said: "We have decided to declare a state of drought in south-west Wales after it was clear the lack of rain and recent heat have put a huge strain on our rivers, reservoirs and groundwater levels.

"It can impact some of our most precious habitats and species as well as systems we often take for granted, such as our water supplies.

"While certain parts of Wales may be experiencing rain, it can still take a long time to recover from drought, making water a precious resource."

The annual Aberaeron Sevens rugby tournament in Ceredigion has been cancelled due to player safety concerns on the bone dry Parc Drefach pitch.

Water levels are so low that in recent days the remnants of Llanwddyn village in Powys, which was flooded in the 19th Century to create Lake Vyrnwy reservoir and supply water to Liverpool, has re-emerged.

This satellite image shows how dry Pembrokeshire was last year compared to this year

Dwr Cymru Welsh Water said the hosepipe ban was necessary as the Llys y Fran reservoir in Pembrokeshire had reached drought levels while the company has seen record demand for water in the area during the heatwaves.

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It said there was not an immediate risk to water supplies in the area but was acting to ensure enough water remained to continue supplying customers over the coming months.

People face a £1,000 fine for flouting the rules, set to be in place for several weeks. Other water companies across England have already introduced hosepipe bans.

However Welsh Water loses about 170 million litres of water per day to leaking pipes, according to regulator Ofwat, although this is still better than most water companies.

Hafren Dyfrdwy, which provides water in Wrexham, Denbighshire and Flintshire, loses approximately 14 million litres - enough to fill 74 Olympic sized swimming pools - every day.

What about the garden?

The hosepipe ban is bad news for gardeners such as Wendy Kinver, whose three-and-a-half acre garden in Pont Trecynny, near Fishguard, was one of 10 shortlisted for the Daily Mail's Garden of the Year competition in 2019.

She has already lost several plants and trees due to the hot, dry weather.

"It's usually a very wet garden, and we've planted plants to suit those conditions, so of course in this weather they're suffering badly.

"Luckily on one plot we have a pond that fills with natural spring water so my husband and I will be hand-watering from the pond day and night - it's a big job."

Drought sees first Welsh hosepipe ban in 30 years

She added: "Normally we have such wet weather through summers and winters, and I really can't understand why Welsh Water haven't managed to store the water sufficiently."

Meanwhile Simon Richards has renovated an old walled garden in Lamphey, he said the situation could pose "a real problem for a lot of people".

"If you've created a beautiful garden and spent hundreds or thousands of pounds as I have here, you don't want your plants to die," he said.

Simon Richards fears water is becoming scarcer

He has specifically designed his garden to be more drought-resistant, partly due to climate change and water "becoming scarcer and more valuable".

"Rainfall is reducing, and also becoming more sporadic which is the biggest problem, so we need to change our systems," he said.

What is a hosepipe ban?

Restrictions on usage vary between providers, but generally people aren't allowed to use hosepipes - or anything that connects to a hosepipe or an outside tap - in order to:

• water a garden or plants

• fill a paddling or swimming pool

• clean a car

• fill a pond

• clean walls or windows

But there are some exceptions:

• for business use (for example, watering commercial crops or running a car wash business)

• to fill pools needed for medical treatment

• to water a new lawn within 28 days of it being laid

• to fill a fountain used for religious practices

• to top up a fishpond when the welfare of the fish depends on it

At the National Trust's Colby Woodland Garden near Amroth, head gardener Steve Whitehead said adapting to the changing climate was one of his key concerns.

"We do rain collection off the roofs of our buildings, and only use a hosepipe for our plants in containers, and in our little nursery," he said.

Over recent weeks he had to "re-dig several of our ponds" and move tadpoles due to the dry conditions.

"The water table is probably a foot lower at least than I've known it to be at the bottom of the valley here, and the stream has dried to a little trickle."

Mr Whitehead said adapting to climate change was one of his biggest concerns

Water UK, which represents the UK's water industry, said hosepipe bans normally reduce water usage in an area by about 10%.

The hosepipe ban is the first to be introduced in Wales since 1989, and Welsh Water said it would remain in place until there had been enough rain to replenish the reservoirs in Pembrokeshire.

The area is mainly fed by reservoirs at Llys-f-Fran and Rosebush.

Tankers have also been moving water from the company's Capi Dewi works in Carmarthenshire to replenish main water supplies in the Rhoshill hamlet near Cilgerran.

Wales is split into 24 "water resource zones" of which the area experiencing the current hosepipe ban is one.

Welsh Water's drought plan said Wales' landscape means that each of those zones is essentially self-contained with limited opportunity to transfer water from one to another.

This means less flexibility to manage droughts in specific areas, even if the overall water availability in Wales is healthy.

What is the difference between a drought and a hosepipe ban?

Declaring a drought comes after experts look at a series of factors associated with low rainfall, while a hosepipe ban is one of the restrictions which can be brought in as a result.

One is looking at the river and reservoir levels; the other is people being asked to play their part in conserving water supplies.

Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water has already said its Llys y Fran reservoir, supplying Pembrokeshire and parts of Carmarthenshire is at drought levels.

It's what's led to a hosepipe ban in that specific area to help preserve and manage drinking water supplies.

NRW - via the Welsh Government's Drought Liaison Group - has looked at a range of wider triggers - including river and groundwater levels, water quality and impact on wildlife to declare an official state of drought across much of south west Wales.

It's more about the message this sends out - rather than further restrictions at the moment - to try and raise awareness of the situation and encourage everyone to be more mindful of their use of water and report incidents such as fish in distress.

Llys y Fran serves 60,000 households in Pembrokeshire

Welsh Water's managing director of water services, Ian Christie, said the decision to introduce the ban was not taken lightly.

"If we don't take action now then there would be a real risk of further restrictions later, which is something we really want to avoid for our customers," he said.

"With no significant rain in the forecast, it is important that we all work together to make sure the water continues to flow."

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