Hosepipe ban in August

Above: How Ridgegate reservoir looks when full

A hosepipe ban is set to be introduced in the North West after weeks of dry weather.

United Utilities has announced the first hosepipe ban of the summer in England in a bid to preserve water levels in the region.

The firm said a temporary ban affecting seven million people would come into force from August 5th to “safeguard essential supplies”.

The firm said reservoir levels were already low and hot weather is forecast for the rest of July.

United Utilities is the only company in England which is planning to introduce a ban.

A United Utilities spokesperson said: “Despite some recent rainfall, reservoir levels are still lower than we would expect at this time of year and, with forecasters predicting a return to hot dry weather for the rest of July we will need to impose some temporary restrictions on customers.

“We are enormously grateful to customers for having helped reduce the demand on our network over the last couple of weeks but unless we get a period of sustained rainfall before 5 August these restrictions will help us safeguard essential water supplies for longer.”

The firm has the power to impose fines of up to £1,000 for people who ignore the ban.

The parlous state of the reservoirs is shown in the following images – taken this morning (17 July)