Drought declared in South West Wales and Yorkshire as Thames and South West Water confirm usage bans

Natural Resources Wales declared a drought in South West Wales, affecting the areas of North Ceredigion, Teifi, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthen, Swansea and Llanelli, and Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend. It said across the rest of Wales, the majority of rivers are lower than expected for the time of year, with many exceptionally low including the Alyn, Conwy, Clwyd, Taf, Teifi, Ewenny, Wye, Usk and Ebbw.

Meanwhile the Environment Agency has added Yorkshire Water to its existing list of eight areas formally in drought. Yorkshire reported customers had responded to news of a hosepipe ban, which starts on 26 August, by being mindful of usage: the heatwave in July saw consumption surge to 1.5bn litres a day, whereas during the 13/14 August weekend, usage was around 100m litres lower at 1.4bn.

And Thames Water has confirmed that the start date for its Temporary Use Ban (TUB) for London and the Thames Valley will be 24 August. South West Water announced a TUB for Cornwall and parts of North Devon will be introduced on 23 August.