A hosepipe ban has been issued over parts of Sussex as a result of the recent heatwave, South East Water has said. The ban will come into effect on June 26 and will prevent people from using hosepipes and sprinklers, affecting 2.3 million customers.
The decision has been made as South East Water, which supplies water to five separate counties, has said that demand for drinking water in Kent and Sussex has reached record levels in June. Thus, the ban will only be in place for Kent and Sussex, with towns such as Eastbourne, Haywards Heath, East Grinstead, Seaford and Crowborough among those to be hit with a ban.
Whilst the water company has said similar water levels were demanded during last summer’s heatwave, this year’s ban has come earlier due to a lack of rain and prolonged dry weather in the late spring. Several instances of households having no water or low pressure have been reported recently which further contributed to the decision.
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The water pumping and treatment facilities are said to be working at “full output” with every possible source and treatment work being put to use to produce an extra 120 million litres of water per day. However, South East Water has said they have been unable to restore water levels to “satisfactory levels,” leaving them with no option but to implement a Temporary Use Ban (TUB).
Large parts of Sussex, including Brighton, Crawley, Horsham and Worthing are not served by South East Water and so will be unaffected by this ban. It is not yet known how long the TUB will remain in place.
David Hinton, Chief Executive Officer, South East Water, said: “This situation has developed much more rapidly than last year. Understandably, we’ve seen customer demand increase in line with the hotter weather, however, this has impacted our ability to keep all customers in supply at all times.
“Despite asking for customers’ help to use water for essential uses only, regrettably we’ve now been left with no choice but to introduce this temporary use ban restriction to protect customers supplies across Kent and Sussex. The long-term forecast for the rest of the summer is for a dry period with little rainfall, although temperatures may reduce slightly.
“Restricting the use of hosepipes and sprinklers to make sure we have enough water for our customers’ essential use, will ensure we can serve our vulnerable customers and to protect the local environment. The temporary restrictions will be enforced from 26 June.
“This will mean that customers will be prevented from using hosepipes for watering their gardens, washing cars, patios and boats and from filling swimming and paddling pools. We are very aware that climate change and other factors are increasing the frequency of these events and we are submitting proposals to our regulator, Ofwat to solve these issues. I would like to thank everyone who has already taken steps to try and reduce their overall water use but despite this, demand still remains very high which is why we have taken this decision to bring in temporary use restrictions.”
Some people may be eligible for exemptions to the ban. For more information and to see if you are exempt, see the South East Water website.
What can’t you do during a hosepipe ban?
As a result of reservoirs running low across Sussex and Kent, South East Water has outlined exactly what you can’t do from June 26:
- Watering a garden using a hosepipe
- Cleaning a private motor vehicle using a hosepipe
- Watering plants on domestic or other non-commercial premises using a hosepipe
- Cleaning a private leisure boat using a hosepipe
- Filling or maintaining a domestic swimming or paddling pool
- Drawing water, using a hosepipe, for domestic recreational use
- Filling or maintaining a domestic pond using a hosepipe
- Filling or maintaining an ornamental fountain
- Cleaning walls, or windows, of domestic premises using a hosepipe;
- Cleaning paths or patios using a hosepipe
- Cleaning other artificial outdoor surfaces using a hosepipe
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