Devon and Cornwall hosepipe ban grows to 390,000 households and won't be lifted until December
25 April 2023, 09:29 | Updated: 25 April 2023, 09:45
Some 390,000 households are now covered by the hosepipe ban in south-west England, as the local water company tries to build up supplies for the summer.
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Household customers of South West Water (SWW) in the affected areas cannot use a hosepipe to water their garden or wash their car, among other activities, from Tuesday. Businesses can carry on as normal.
The latest restrictions are in place in all areas covered by the Roadford reservoir in Devon, including Plymouth, Barnstaple, Tavistock and Torbay.
It comes in addition to hosepipe ban in Cornwall and a small part of north Devon that has been in place since August 2022.
The ban won't be lifted until December unless there is 'record-breaking rainfall'.
SWW bosses said: "Our water resources across the region remain under pressure and as we go into the summer period we have taken the necessary action to safeguard supplies and break the cycle of drought following lower than average levels of rainfall last year and throughout February."
Read more: Hosepipe bans set to continue into 2023 despite return of rain, water companies warn
They added: "We are grateful to all our customers and communities for their efforts in reducing daily water usage over the drought period.
"We must ask you to keep saving water where you can, so that our water resources can recover sufficiently for the spring and summer ahead."
David Harris, SWW drought and resilience director, said: "We understand that our customers don't like these measures... [but] it's actually the responsible thing for us to do at this time ahead of that peak summer demand."
Reservoir levels have dropped across South West Water's network, standing on average 17% lower than in 2022.
Colliford reservoir, which services Cornwall, is at 60% capacity, while Roadford reservoir, which provides water to Devon, is at 70%.
Some relief may arrive in the coming weeks. Parts of Devon, including Plymouth and Barnstaple, are expecting sunshine and showers over the bank holiday weekend.
Last year saw hosepipe bans introduced across much of the UK amid hot and dry weather in the summer.
But this year has seen much more rain, with March the wettest on record for England and Wales.
