Thames Water has announced a hosepipe ban affecting some of its customers.
The ban will begin next Tuesday, July 22, for the water company’s customers in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, most of Wiltshire and some parts of Berkshire.
The water company said the measure will be brought in after the Environment Agency placed its area into the “prolonged dry weather category”.
The ban announced on Monday does not affect the company’s customers in London.
The ban will begin on July 22 for customer in all OX postcodes, all GL postcodes, all SN postcodes as well as customers in RG4, RG8 and RG9 postcodes.
Thames Water warned it may need to add other postcodes to the ban as it asked customers to “make every drop count”.
It comes as data over the weekend showed England’s reservoirs are at their lowest levels for a decade.
In June, reservoirs across the country were 76% full, which is below their level in the severe drought year of 2022 when they were at 77% capacity at this time in the summer.
Levels continue to fall as the hot weather has caused an increased demand for water and there has been very little rain to refill reservoirs.
A statement on the Thames Water website, released on Monday, read: “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.
