Cornwall faces hosepipe ban amid drought and heatwave
South West Water said the ban would come into force from August 23 to protect dwindling supplies.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A hosepipe ban is being introduced to Cornwall and parts of Devon for the first time in 26 years amid a continuing drought.
South West Water said the ban would come into force from August 23 to protect dwindling supplies.
The region has had little rain for the past eight months and July was the driest for nearly a century.
The Exeter-based firm is the sixth water company after Welsh Water, Southern Water, and South East Water to impose hosepipe restrictions.
Yorkshire Water has announced a ban will start on August 26 and Thames Water is planning one in the coming weeks.
An official drought was declared in eight areas of England on Friday by the National Drought Group, which comprises representatives from the Government, water companies, the Environment Agency and others.
“It’s the first time in 26 years but we’ve been left with no other choice. We need to have a hosepipe ban now to protect our precious water,” a South West Water spokesman said.
“We’ve done our best to avoid this ban. We’ve increased the amount of water we can store, doubling it since the last drought in 1976.
“We’ve opened reservoirs, installed a new borehole, and improved the way we can move water across the region to help keep everyone’s taps running.”
South West Water said it was now fixing about 2,000 leaks a month, with a third happening on customer supply pipes, which were being repaired for free.