Major water supplier applies for stricter hosepipe ban which could see car washes and swimming pools forced to close
Southern Water has applied for a stricter water ban which could force car washes and swimming pools to close - after the provider placed its 2.7 million customers under hosepipe restrictions.
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The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has said that the major water company has applied for the right to impose a non-essential use ban (NEUB).
Defra says it is currently considering granting the ban to the provider, which would see businesses and households prevented from using water for even more purposes.
Southern supplies large swathes of Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex and Hampshire with water.
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According to regulator Ofwat, the following uses of water are prohibited while under an NEUB:
- Watering outdoor plants on commercial premises
- Filling or maintaining a non-domestic swimming pool or paddling pool
- Filling or maintaining a pond
- Operating a mechanical vehicle washer
- Cleaning any vehicle, boat, aircraft or railway rolling stock
- Cleaning non-domestic premises
- Cleaning windows on non-domestic premises
- Cleaning industrial plant
- Suppressing dust
- Operating cisterns on unoccupied buildings
Britain's sweltering summer has seen more than 10 million people placed under the lesser temporary use ban (TUB), commonly known as a hosepipe ban.
The revelation that Southern is seeking to place businesses under further restrictions came on the same day that nearly three-quarters of the UK was revealed to be in a drought.
The Environment Agency (EA) confirmed on Monday that four more areas of England have moved into drought status, with 71.3% of the country now experiencing “flash drought” in the wake of very low rainfall and higher temperatures.
The East Midlands, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, Kent and East Sussex, and Solent and the South Downs have become the latest areas to move into drought.
The latest drought warnings came as parts of the UK braced for the fifth heatwave of the summer, with temperatures expected to climb into the mid 30Cs later in the week, peaking at 36C on Thursday.