London close to first hosepipe ban since 2006

This February - usually a month where groundwater levels are replenished - was one of the driest on record; increasing the threat of a major drought this summer.

Reservoirs in and around London are still full but levels are expected to drop with the arrival of warmer spring weather. A Thames Water source said: “The real problem is we just don’t know what the summer is going to bring. If we get average rainfall then we should be fine but we have to prepare for the worst.”

The water companies that serve the worst affected areas, stretching in an arc from Hampshire to East Anglia and Lincolnshire, are expected to appoint a “drought czar” to co-ordinate efforts to save water.

Current forecasts suggest that the settled spell will last through to the Easter long weekend in early April.

Edited from: Evening Standard