Businesses could be barred from non-essential water use amid supply threat

Golf clubs, private schools and car washes may face tighter rules from water companies as England’s drought continues

Three water companies are seeking to impose severe restrictions on businesses as the drought continues across most of England, putting rivers and wildlife under huge pressure.

Eleven areas of England are still in drought, rivers are suffering from low flows, groundwater levels are declining and reservoir levels are at 54% – 21% below what is expected in the autumn.

Nineteen reservoirs or reservoir groups in England and Wales are less than 50% full, and eight are exceptionally low, up from five in August.

Businesses in drought-hit areas have been excluded from the hosepipe restrictions imposed on the public for the past three months. But South East, Southern and South West Water have applied to extend restrictions on water use to businesses via non-essential use bans in parts of their regions. If granted, water restrictions can be placed on golf clubs, private schools and commercial car washes to cut water use. Power hoses in car washes can use up to 25 litres of water per minute.

Pressure on wildlife and the environment from the drought is continuing. River flows in seven areas in England are exceptionally low, according to the latest Defra figures, affecting habitats, fish and wildlife. They include the River Derwent in the north-east, the rivers Yare and Ely Ouse in east England, and the River Tone and the Hampshire Avon catchments in south-west England.

Mark Owen, the head of fisheries at the Angling Trust, said: “When rivers and fish are suffering from the ongoing effects of a severe drought, the Angling Trust supports further restrictions on non-essential water use, alongside urgent action to reduce huge leakage from water companies and unsustainable abstraction from rivers.

In Hampshire, where the chalk aquifer is exceptionally low, Southern Water is seeking a drought order that would allow it to draw water from an internationally prized chalk stream and rare salmon habitat, even at levels below what is deemed ecologically safe. Southern said it was applying for the permit for the River Test owing to “a clear threat to supplies” in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The company is seeking a non-essential use ban on commercial premises and businesses to reduce demand as it seeks to draw more water from the Test.

The Ardingly reservoir, near Haywards Heath in West Sussex, which serves 280,000 people, is exceptionally low, holding 1.05bn litres of water. Its total capacity is 5.2bn litres.

Sam Bottomley, South West Water’s director for drinking water services, said the region was entering a critical phase of an exceptionally prolonged drought.

“Many people understandably think a drought is over once it starts raining. In reality, recovery takes much longer.