LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Yorkshire Water announced on Friday that it would bring in a hosepipe ban from Aug. 26, saying parts of northern English region had seen the lowest rainfall since records began more than 130 years ago.
The announcement comes as parts of England are likely to declare a drought on Friday, according to local media reports ahead of a meeting between the government, its environment agency and water companies.
“The hot, dry, weather means that Yorkshire’s rivers are running low and our reservoirs are around 20% lower than we would expect for this time of year,” Yorkshire Water’s Director of Water Neil Dewis said.
“We’ve been doing everything we can to avoid putting in restrictions but unfortunately, they’re now necessary as part of our drought planning,” he added.
Several water companies have already announced restrictions on water usage. A ban on hoses and sprinklers for South East Water customer comes into effect on Friday and Thames Water, which supplies 15 million people around London, said it was also planning restrictions.
Much of Europe has faced weeks of baking temperatures that have triggered large wildfires, threatening crops and drained water levels.
Earlier this week, Britain’s environment minister George Eustice urged water companies to take precautions to protect water supplies and tackle the effects of the prolonged dry weather as another heatwave is forecast across the country.
(Reporting by Farouq Suleiman; editing by William James)
