THAMES Water has released further comments following the hosepipe ban implemented in Reading over the summer.
It comes after the ban was put in place weeks ago, amid reports from the utilities provider of low water levels as a result of a slew of warm weather.
Over the past 6 months there has been less than half the average rainfall expected; in August, this equated to 44% of the long-term average rainfall for the month.
The Met Office has confirmed that 2025 has been the hottest summer on record, with the mean temperature 1.51C above the long-term average.
Nevil Muncaster, Strategic Water Resources Director at Thames Water, said: “This summer has been ‘the hottest on record’ and in our region alone, we’ve had less than half the rainfall we would expect over the last few months, meaning rivers and groundwater levels in the west of our region are still under significant pressure.
“We’ve welcomed the rain over the past few weeks, which has helped the rivers we use to top up our reservoirs, however most of this rainfall has been soaked up by the excessively dry ground and hasn’t had a notable impact to the groundwater levels which feed the River Thames.
“To restore reservoir levels to normal, we need at least 70% of our average rainfall between now and spring.
He explained: “Our water resources will take time to recover; consequently, current hosepipe restrictions will remain in place.
“We’ve also seen a faster decline in London’s reservoir levels in recent weeks and we’re closely monitoring the situation to help protect water resources ahead of next summer (2026).
“We’d like to thank our customers for their continued support, saving more than 5 million litres of water each day since the hosepipe ban began.
“We encourage everyone to keep using water wisely to protect our local rivers, reservoirs, and wildlife.”
He concluded: “We’ll keep customers and stakeholders updated as we move through the autumn and winter months.”
