The first hosepipe ban to come into force in England in a decade could remain in place until October.
Bodies of water have vanished during the driest July in about a century, and the country has suffered during the first week of August with a prolonged lack of rain.
In July, England recorded just 35 per cent of its average rainfall for that time of year, and it will be a while before there was “meaningful rainfall” to make up for the last dry five weeks, according to the Met Office meteorologist Grahame Madge.
Light showers or thunderstorms expected next week will likely not be “sufficient compensation” to replenish water supplies, he said.
As a result, rivers may not return to normal levels for some time, the Met Office has predicted.
The UK has sweltered in high summer temperatures for the past five weeks, including an extreme heatwave in July that saw temperatures hit 40C for the first time since records began.
Three companies – Southern Water, South East Water, and Welsh Water – have announced hosepipe bans.
At least three more – including Thames Water, South West Water and Yorkshire Water – have said they cannot rule out imposing such a ban.
Southern Water’s long-range predictions include a “median scenario” in which river levels would climb back above 500 megalitres in early October and stay there for several weeks.
This prediction suggests that the firm’s hosepipe ban – that was imposed on Friday 5 August for its customers in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight – could be lifted by the end of October.
Southern Water has also applied for a “drought permit” that would allow it to draw more water from the River Test to supply homes. If granted, the permit will remain in force for six months.
A spokesman for the water company said, according to The Times, that a hosepipe ban would be likely for the duration of the permit, although it could be lifted sooner if water flow in the River Test rose significantly above 500 megalitres a day for 21 consecutive days.
South East Water will bring in a hosepipe ban from Friday 12 August for customers in Kent and Sussex.
Welsh Water will ban the use of water hoses in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire from Friday 19 August.
