Water is rationed in some areas of UK with homeowners told to only use it when ‘essential’ as warm spell continues
WATER has been rationed in some parts of the UK, with Brits told to only use it when “essential”.
Temperatures topping 30C and a lack of rainfall have been cited by water bosses as major factors in the decision to limit usage.
Parts of Kent and Sussex have been blanketed by restrictions, with people urged to only use water for essential purposes like washing, drinking and food preparation.
The affected areas are those supplied by South East Water.
Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said: “The heat is set to drop slightly in coming days.
“London might not meet heatwave criteria, for example, but there’s a good deal of dry, fine, sunny weather to be had this week with temperatures remaining well above average.
“Into the weekend there should be a fair amount of dry weather, with temperatures remaining warm for many, although also humid and warm overnight.”
The Met has forecast temperatures in the mid-to-high 20s for much of England over the next few days, though these are not unusual for summer.
London is expected to reach a high of 28C on Wednesday, with Manchester likely to see a top of 27C.
Temperatures could also push 28C in Cardiff in the afternoon, while it should be slightly cooler across Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Douglas Whitfield, Director of Operations for South East Water, said: “We’ve not had any significant rainfall since the end of April and this has put considerable pressure on our ability to treat, pump and supply water to our all customers.
“Together with increased demand, this has impacted the amount of treated water we have in our drinking water storage tanks across the regions.
“We’re asking our customers to commit to only using water that’s needed for essentials – things like drinking, cooking and hygiene.
“If we can all do that for the next few days, we will be able to refill the network much faster.”
However, the Met are predicting rain to return from next week.
The long-range forecast says that “heavy and thunder” showers are likely to spread across “many areas” from June 19 and could continue though the week.
Despite this, temperatures are expected to stay “very warm” and humid.