The hosepipe ban affecting people across Reading and Wokingham is expected to last until next year, Thames Water has announced.
The company says there has been some wet weather during September, but river levels are still well below average and reservoirs are at their lowest level since 2003.
Above average rainfall is needed this autumn and winter to replenish reserves to normal levels.
A temporary ban came into force in August, following reports that the River Thames was at its lowest level since 2005, and after a long, hot dry summer with temperatures reaching record highs.
This year has been one of the driest on record, with 10 of the last 12 months experiencing below average rainfall.
As a result, the hosepipe ban remains.
“Our reservoir levels continue to remain below average and a lot more rain will need to fall to get our water levels back to normal,” a Thames Water spokesperson said.
“Our hosepipe ban is still in place to make sure there’s enough water to go around.”
The ban means that using a hose to water gardens and plants, washing cars, cleaning windows, patios and walls, and filling or maintaining a hot tub are forbidden.
Failure to comply can result in fines of up to £1,000.
Some changes allow a hose pipe to be used to on an allotment, on trees, grass and plants for the first 28 days from planting, and to water sports pitches “to maintain their commercial viability”.
Thames Water has been criticised in recent months for failing to fix leaks and dumping raw sewage, whilst still paying executives large bonuses.
The leaks are resulting in the loss of more than 600 million litres of water a day – nearly a quarter of all the water it supplies – according to national reports.
A company spokesperson said they “know it’s not acceptable” to be losing so much water and have met its three-year target “to reduce leaks by 10%”.
Thames Water has set a further target of reducing leakage by 20% by 2025.
Raw sewage was discharged into the River Thames and its tributaries 5,028 times in 2021, according to the Oxford Rivers Improvement Campaign (ORIC), which Thames Water admitted is “unacceptable”.
A spokesperson said they take the matter “very seriously” and are “committed to being transparent” in order to protect and improve the environment.
“Our shareholders have recently approved an additional £2billion into the business so we can improve outcomes for customers, leakage and river health,” they added.
The water company’s bosses were awarded millions of pounds in bonuses despite the issues, which it says are “benchmarked” against other similar-sized organisations and need to pay competitive packages to “attract and retain the best people”.
“Bonuses are dependent on achieving specified performance improvements in key areas including leakage, pollution and customer service,” they added.
