About a million more people will face a hosepipe ban as Thames Water announced the move following one of the driest springs on record.
Thames Water has brought in a temporary ban for about 1.1 million customers in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Swindon, most of Wiltshire and parts of Berkshire, from July 22.
London has avoided the ban, which will be applied to postcodes beginning with OX, GL, SN, RG4, RG8 and RG9.
The water company has asked customers not to use hosepipes, including for cleaning cars, watering plants, filling pools or cleaning windows.
The Environment Agency has placed the areas covered by Thames Water into the “prolonged dry weather category” and the water company says its drought plan is designed to mitigate the risk of further impact on water supplies and ensure taps can keep running.
Businesses which use water as a core part of their purpose, such as garden centres and car washes, will be exempt.
In an announcement on its website, Thames Water said: “This year, the UK experienced one of its warmest and driest springs in over a century. June was also England’s warmest on record. The Environment Agency has put our area into the prolonged dry weather category.
“That’s why we need to bring in a hosepipe ban. It will help protect the environment and make sure there’s enough water to go around this summer.”
Bans are already in place in several parts of the country. Yorkshire Water has implemented one, affecting households in York, Leeds, Hull, Doncaster and Sheffield.
South East Water has one in place from July 18, which will affect homes and businesses in Ashford, Canterbury, Eastbourne, Maidstone, Haywards Heath and Royal Tunbridge Wells.
