Hosepipe ban extended and sinkhole repair date

A HOSEPIPE ban will continue into autumn.

Thames Water announced the ban, which started in July, following a dry spring, to allow water resources to recover.

The ban, which impacts 1.1m people in Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, prohibits the use of a hosepipe for watering the garden, washing the car or filling paddling pools.

It does not impact businesses to which hosepipes are part of their purpose, including garden centres and car washes.

Nevil Muncaster, strategic water resources director, said 70 per cent of average rainfall would be needed between now and spring to restore reservoir levels to normal.

The water firm has also deferred for a third time its challenge to the regulator’s decision on how much it can raise customer bills. It announced on Tuesday it had agreed with Ofwat to defer the case until further notice as it works to secure a rescue plan funded by its creditors.

Meanwhile, Thames Water has said Kidmore Road in Caversham, which was closed in January due to a sinkhole, will re-open by December 12.

A 15-week pipe fixing programme which started in August was delayed after a “secondary ground feature” was found during ground stabilisation works.