A drought is officially declared in south west Wales due to the heatwave’s impact.
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The first hosepipe ban in Wales for more than 30 years comes into force from 08:00 BST, covering Pembrokeshire and parts of Carmarthenshire.
People face a £1,000 fine for flouting the rules, set to be in place for several weeks.
The ban means people will not be allowed to water their plants or wash their cars using a hose.
Dwr Cymru Welsh Water said the action was necessary as the area’s reservoirs had reached drought levels.
The company said it had seen record-breaking demand for water locally during the recent heatwaves.
It said it was acting to ensure enough water remained to continue supplying customers over the coming months and there was not an immediate risk to water supplies in the area.
Welsh Water added that the situation in Pembrokeshire was not unique, and other water companies across England had already introduced hosepipe bans.
Image source, Getty Images
Wendy Kinver’s three-and-a-half acre garden, in Pont Trecynny, near Fishguard, was one of 10 shortlisted for the Daily Mail’s Garden of the Year competition in 2019.
She said she had already lost several plants and trees due to the hot, dry weather, and would find it “really difficult” without her hosepipe.
“It’s usually a very wet garden, and we’ve planted plants to suit those conditions, so of course in this weather they’re suffering badly.
“Luckily on one plot we have a pond that fills with natural spring water so my husband and I will be hand-watering from the pond day and night – it’s a big job.”
She said she was “really surprised” that a hosepipe ban was necessary in Pembrokeshire.
“Normally we have such wet weather through summers and winters, and I really can’t understand why Welsh Water haven’t managed to store the water sufficiently,” she added.
Simon Richards moved to Pembrokeshire in 2015, and has renovated an old walled garden in Lamphey, he said the situation could pose “a real problem for a lot of people”.
“We’re used to being able to use our hosepipes whenever we need to, and if you’ve created a beautiful garden and spent hundreds or thousands of pounds as I have here, you don’t want your plants to die.”
He has specifically designed his garden to be more drought-resistant, partly because of its situation on a south-facing slope near the sea, but also “because the climate is changing, and water is becoming scarcer and more valuable”.
Mr Richards moved from Kent, one of the areas in England where an official drought was declared last week.
“Rainfall is reducing, and also becoming more sporadic which is the biggest problem, so we need to change our systems,” he said.
He added that choosing plants wisely, planting during the autumn rather than the spring, mulching well, and harvesting rain water were all becoming more and more crucial.
What is a hosepipe ban?
Restrictions on usage vary between providers, but generally people aren’t allowed to use hosepipes – or anything that connects to a hosepipe or an outside tap – in order to:
- water a garden or plants
- fill a paddling or swimming pool
- clean a car
- fill a pond
- clean walls or windows
But there are some exceptions:
- for business use (for example, watering commercial crops or running a car wash business)
- to fill pools needed for medical treatment
- to water a new lawn within 28 days of it being laid
- to fill a fountain used for religious practices
- to top up a fishpond when the welfare of the fish depends on it
At the National Trust’s Colby Woodland Garden near Amroth, head gardener Steve Whitehead said adapting to the changing climate was one of his key concerns.
“We do rain collection off the roofs of our buildings, and only use a hosepipe for our plants in containers, and in our little nursery,” he said.
Over recent weeks he had to “re-dig several of our ponds” and move tadpoles due to the dry conditions.
“The water table is probably a foot lower at least than I’ve known it to be at the bottom of the valley here, and the stream has dried to a little trickle.”
Water UK, which represents the UK’s water industry, said hosepipe bans normally reduce water usage in an area by about 10%.
The hosepipe ban is the first to be introduced in Wales since 1989, and Welsh Water said it would remain in place until there had been enough rain to replenish the reservoirs in Pembrokeshire.
The area is mainly fed by reservoirs at Llys-f-Fran and Rosebush.
Tankers have also been moving water from the company’s Capi Dewi works in Carmarthenshire to replenish main water supplies in the Rhoshill hamlet near Cilgerran.
Wales is split into 24 “water resource zones” of which the area experiencing the current hosepipe ban is one.
Welsh Water’s drought plan said Wales’ landscape means that each of those zones is essentially self-contained “with only limited opportunity to transfer water across zonal boundaries”.
“This results in less flexibility to manage potential drought impacts and may require local measures to be put in pace, even if the overall position with regard to water availability in Wales is healthy.”
Welsh Water’s managing director of water services, Ian Christie said the decision to introduce the ban was not taken lightly as they know the inconvenience it can cause.
“If we don’t take action now then there would be a real risk of further restrictions later which is something we really want to avoid for our customers.
“With no significant rain in the forecast, it is important that we all work together to make sure the water continues to flow.”
He added that the company appreciated the steps people had already taken to limit the amount of water they use, but would urge everyone in the affected area to respect the ban and not use a hosepipe.