Birmingham Weather: Will there be a hosepipe ban in Birmingham? What has Severn Trent Water said

Hosepipe bans have been issued across some parts of the UK, after water providers in England said demand for drinking water has reached “record levels”. Local water companies are responsible for putting hosepipe bans in place to reduce the risk of extreme drought and water shortages.

Severn Trent water, the company which supplies water to Birmingham has not placed a hosepipe ban since 1995. Marcus O’Kane, water resources manager at Severn Trent said: “As our reservoirs across the region are looking healthy again, we’re feeling more confident that we’re going into the summer in a good position.  But, as we’ve heard from Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, yesterday, as we go forwards, increases in population and climate change are going to bring much more demand for the finite water resources we have. So we all need to do everything we can, starting now, to reduce our demand for this precious resource.

“For our part, we have ambitious plans to reduce leakage by 15% in the next five years, and by 50% in the next 25 years, as well as using various technologies such as satellites and drones to find and fix leaks much quicker.  We’re investing in and making better use of our more sustainable water resources and we’re improving the resilience and flexibility of our pipe network, which will allow us to move water around from those areas that have more, to those that have less.

“And we’re asking our customers to do their part too – to make a change, we all need to be in this together. In the UK, the average amount of water used per person per day is 140 litres, yet in parts of Denmark they use only 80 litres, so it is absolutely possible.  It’s simple and easy to save water around the home; we have tons of great tips on our website.

“We want people to have drinking water available for just that, so we’re encouraging our customers not to use that wonderful water on the garden in the summer.  You could get a water butt, so you can collect the rain when we have it and save it to use on the garden later.  You could also shave a minute off your shower time, make sure you turn off the tap when brushing your teeth, and only use the dishwasher and washing machine when they’re full.

"Just little things will make a huge difference if we all get into good habits now, ahead of the summer.”

A ban is due to come into effect on June 26 for Sussex and Essex as South East Water said its facilities are working at full output and some people have already been left without water due to supply issues.

People who are caught breaking the hosepipe ban could be hit by a £1,000 fine - this includes using them to water gardens, clean cars or fill swimming pools. Severn Trent Water are yet to issue notice on whether a hosepipe ban will come into place this summer.

Will there be a hosepipe ban in Birmingham

The Severn Trent water states that there is not a hosepipe ban in place but has advised customers to use water wisely. Sophie Evans-Young, customer demand lead at Severn Trent said: “We tend to think about Britain as a country that gets more than its share of rain, but water is a precious resource and with temperatures expected to climb in the coming days, we want to remind customers to use water wisely.

“It’s natural when the weather gets warmer to get paddling pools out and using sprinklers, hosepipes and pressure washers to keep gardens and cars looking lovely. However, it’s water-intensive activities such as these that can cause a sudden spike in demand.”