Most of England facing hosepipe ban
The Environment Agency (EA) warned on Monday that swathes of the country, from Cumbria to the Isle of Wight, could have drought status declared by September.
Such a scenario would be expected to leave tens of millions in the North, Midlands and central southern England with curbs on their water usage.
The forecast came after Thames Water announced a temporary usage ban in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire, bringing the number of people in England under such restrictions to 7.5 million.
It follows similar measures announced recently by South East Water and Yorkshire Water.
The EA said the public should 'expect more' hosepipe bans as water companies respond to the predicted drought.
Under its forecasts, Cumbria, Yorkshire, Lancashire, the Midlands, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Surrey, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight will all be in drought by September.
The rest of the country – with the only exceptions being Devon and Cornwall – will be in 'prolonged dry weather' status, the category below drought.
'That's our reasonable worst-case scenario,' said Richard Thompson, the quango 's deputy director for water resources. 'That's what we are planning towards.
'But we have also stress tested that against some more extreme scenarios. Under those circumstances, we might expect droughts to move faster. We could expect it to become more widespread.'
Currently, three 'regions' of England are in drought: Cumbria and Lancashire; Yorkshire; and Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire.
Reservoir levels are now said to be very low across the North and Midlands following a succession of heatwaves and the driest first six months of the year in England since 1976.
Dr Will Lang, the Met Office's chief meteorologist, said: 'Looking forward, if the dry weather was to continue through the rest of the summer, we do expect other companies to follow [suit] as they follow their dry plan.
'But it will be dependent on the rainfall and temperatures.'
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That includes London, where Thames Water did not rule out introducing restrictions.
Sources told The Telegraph that the company was keeping a 'close eye' on declining water levels in reservoirs which supply the capital, where stocks are currently 'slightly below average'.
That is only marginally better than the 'below average' levels of the Farmoor Reservoir, which prompted the hosepipe ban in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire.
The Environment Agency also warned that farmers were facing a 'deteriorating' situation.
It said the dry spring had forced them to start irrigating fields earlier than usual and reservoirs were now 'low in some areas', adding that it could lead to 'poor crop quality', 'lower yields' and reduced 'winter feed supplies'.
The agency also confirmed that farmers in East Anglia and Yorkshire were being banned from watering their crops in an attempt to preserve water supplies.
Abstraction bans, known as Section 57 restrictions, are imposed by the Environment Agency during times when severe drought coincides with irrigation periods.
On Saturday, Tom Bradshaw, the president of the National Farmers' Union, said that the bans were ' risking food production '.
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The following vegetables can be left to their own devices. Carrots and beetroot have fleshy moisture-seeking roots and brassicas have leathery foliage, so they'll be fine. Onions and shallots should be ripening now, rather than growing. Newly planted roses Twice a week or more These are very vulnerable in their first growing season, because most have been potted up in the spring, so their fibrous root system hasn't fully developed. Gently tipping a whole can of water round the base, a couple of times a week, is vital. If you're away, make sure your helpers know where your new rose is. Once roses are established, they are very tolerant of dry conditions and heat. Check newly planted clematis as well. The smaller-flowered viticellas are the most drought-tolerant ones, once established. Hydrangeas Twice a week Hydrangeas have suffered this year due to the unusually dry spring and many are still struggling. 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