Area put under hosepipe ban with immediate effect

A coastal region in Essex is being put under a hosepipe ban with immediate effect, Affinity Water has announced.

Households in the Tendring Peninsula area have been under restrictions, which were brought in for some residents in Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, London and Surrey on 10 July.

Customers cannot use a hosepipe for activities such as watering gardens, washing cars and filling paddling pools.

"Expanding the hosepipe ban to include the remaining parts of Essex is not a decision we've taken lightly," Stephen Plumb, asset strategy and capital delivery director at Affinity Water, said.

"The prolonged hot and dry weather, combined with continued high demand for water, means this is now necessary to help protect local water supplies and the environment."

Businesses can continue using a hosepipe if it is necessary for commercial activities.

But people who fail to comply, which is a criminal offence under the Water Industry Act 1991, could be fined up to £1,000 in the magistrates' courts.

It came after the Environment Agency declared a drought across more than two-thirds of England, including the East of England, on 10 August.

Plumb continued: "The prolonged dry weather has reduced the natural underground water stores that supply the region and impacted Ardleigh Reservoir, which provides around a third of Essex's water supply."

An Affinity Water spokesperson said: "Under the hosepipe ban, residents must not use a hosepipe or garden sprinkler at any time, day or night, for activities including watering gardens, washing cars, cleaning windows, washing patios, paths and driveways, or filling swimming and paddling pools."

East Anglia is the driest region in the country, and the East of England has seen the second-driest spring on record, with only 39% of expected rainfall.

The ban is set to be in place "only for as long as necessary", and restrictions will be lifted once supplies start to meet demand in the coming months, the spokesperson added.

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