USING sprinklers and unattended hosepipes will be banned in Kent from next Monday (July 11) to ensure there is enough clean drinking water to go round.

Mid Kent Water and Southern Water say they have reluctantly taken the step to make sure everyone has sufficient water for basic necessities like washing and cooking as water levels continue to fall.

People are being warned that restrictions are enforcable by criminal prosecution.

Trevor Bishop, head of regulation and customer services at Mid Kent Water, said: “This is obviously a decision we have taken reluctantly, but it’s based on a careful assessment of a number of key factors, including the high demand for water we are witnessing across mid-Kent and the low levels of water in underground supplies.”

Mr Bishop said he did not wish to see neighbours informing on other neighbours, but that staff would be able to check on those recklessly using precious supplies.

“We are going to undertake monitoring work and we will be able to see who is using their sprinkler when they shouldn’t be. If people are using an enormous amount of water just to keep their lawn green, then that’s not sensible,” he said.

“We hope the step we are taking now will help reduce demand on non-essential use of a very precious resource. After all, a garden sprinkler uses as much water in one hour as a family of four uses in a weekend.”

About 218,000 properties will be affected by the ban, which was last in force in 1995. Concern over water levels follows a five-month period between November and March when water levels were 60 per cent less than average.

The southern region as a whole is at its driest since the huge drought of 1976 and in June many areas had only 10mm of rain compared to the usual average of 50mm. The step is as much to safeguard next summer’s water levels in case of a dry winter.

Mid Kent Water has 600,000 customers who use 165m litres of water a day. For more information on how you can help save water in your home visit www.midkentwater.co.uk

kmfm's Ben Biddulph has more...