Sussex safe from hosepipe ban at the moment, says Southern Water

Southern Water supplied an average of 631 million litres of water a day to customers in July, well up on its usual 540 million litre average.

And while a hosepipe ban will come into action in nearby Hampshire on Friday to tackle a 25 per cent reduction in river flows, the water company said Sussex is not yet at risk, as the county sources its water from an aquifer.

“Water sinks down through the chalk until it reaches bedrock. We use bore holes to pump it out,” a spokesman for Southern Water said.

“That means that droughts in this part of our region are very much dependent on how wet or dry the winter is.

“We did have an unusually dry winter last year, one of the driest on record, but generally it takes two dry winters before drought fears begin in areas where the major source is groundwater.”

Sussex has avoided the hosepipe ban

But the National Infrastructure Committee (NIC) said the way the United Kingdom manages its water needs to improve, or people could face a future of scrambling for emergency water supplies “from the back of lorries”.

NIC chairman Sir John Armitt told The Observer: “You have to pay for water, one way or another.

“That could be investing in new reservoirs or moving water around the country, as well as stopping leaks.”

The Angling Trust and Rivers Trust also joined calls for the UK government to remedy its water woes.

“There is no strategic, coherent, joined-up approach. The reaction is always knee-jerk,” said Mark Owen, of the Angling Trust.

“What happens when we get to this stage – when it is very dry and hot – is that all of a sudden usage shoots up as people fill paddling pools and water their gardens."

Hampshire and the Isle of Wight’s temporary use ban means hosepipes cannot be used to water gardens or clean cars, and ornamental ponds and swimming pools must not be filled.

Residents of Sussex can monitor available water levels via Southern Water’s website.