Thames Water is urging consumers to use water wisely, with the threat of possible restrictions if the situation doesn’t improve.
A Thames Water spokesperson said: “The ongoing dry weather and increased customer demand is impacting our water supplies across the Thames Valley, and unless the situation changes significantly, we will need to put usage restrictions, including a hosepipe ban, in place to ensure taps keep running for customers’ essential use.
“The UK has had one of the warmest and driest springs in over a century and the continued hot weather now means that the Environment Agency has placed the Thames Area into the Prolonged Dry Weather category, meaning there is heightened concern and risk of drought.
“Every drop of water we use comes from the environment and we’re asking our customers to help us by reducing their water use wherever possible.
“On Monday June 30, in the Swindon and the Oxfordshire areas, our customers’ daily demand for water reached that last seen during the 2022 drought.
“It is important to stay hydrated but there are many ways customers can save water during the summer.
“Some of our top tips include taking shorter showers, turning the tap off while brushing teeth and letting your lawn go dry. This can help reduce big increases in demand and also help the environment which is currently water stressed.
“We continue to monitor our water resources carefully and the extended warm weather also brings increased risks of leaks and bursts due to pipe stress and shifting foundations in the ground.
“We are working to ensure that our leakage engineers are placed where leaks are most likely to occur, and our teams are working day and night to find and fix these leaks using innovative technology.”
