The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), a government agency, said water management needs to start getting better across the UK. If it is not, they said, the country could face a future of queuing for bottled emergency supplies “from the back of trucks”. The warning came after a tire ban came into force on the Isle of Man following an “extremely dry spell” and a surge in use in recent weeks. Met Office forecasters said they expected August to be dry in southern and south-east England after confirming that July 2022 was the driest July since 1911. Only 24 per cent of the total rainfall normally expected in July fell . The government also needs to invest around £20 billion in the country’s water supply equipment, NIC chairman Sir John Armitt told the Observer. “You must pay [water]one way or another,” he said. “That could be investing in new reservoirs or transporting water across the country, as well as stopping leaks.” The commission’s warning – which has been backed by the Rivers Trust – comes as the first tubing ban of the year comes into effect following the recent heat wave and one of the driest starts to the year on record. Southern Water is to impose a temporary blackout on customers in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight from Friday 5 August. This means that the hoses cannot be used to water gardens or clean cars, and they must not fill ornamental ponds and swimming pools. The restriction is the first to come into force in the region since 2012, with Southern Water saying river flows are down 25% as a result of one of the driest years on record. A pipeline ban was introduced on Friday in the Isle of Man by Manx Utilities. The Rivers Trust and Angling Trust echoed the NIC’s calls for more careful use of water across the country as the situation is predicted to get worse in the coming years. Mark Lloyd, from the Rivers Trust, told the Observer: “There needs to be a nationally coordinated campaign to reduce water use and universal water metering. “Low flows in rivers are devastating to wildlife and ultimately we need to take much more care of this incredibly valuable resource.” Mark Owen, of the Angling Trust, criticized the government for its lack of extreme weather planning, telling the Observer: “There is no strategic, coherent, joined-up approach. The reaction is always knee-jerk. “What happens when we get to that stage – when it’s very dry and hot – is that suddenly usage increases as people fill swimming pools and water their gardens.” Across the UK it was the driest July so far since 1984, with an average of 1.5 inches (37.7 mm) of rain, and is the eighth driest on records stretching back to 1836. The Met Office said the figures showed England had its driest eight-month period from November 2021 to June 2022 since 1976, when the country experienced a severe drought. During this period, just 16.6 inches (421 mm) of rain fell across England – less than three-quarters (74%) of the 1991-2020 average of 22.4 inches (568 mm). This year the temperature reached 38.1C at Santon Downham in Suffolk on July 18 and a record 40.3C at Coningsby in Lincolnshire on July 19 South East England recorded 24 days of zero average rainfall between June 1 and July 24 this year, according to Met Office figures. During the same period in 1976, the region experienced 36 days without rain.
