Ministers have urged water companies to go “further and faster” to tackle leaks after The i Paper analysis found 2.6 billion litres is being lost every day – far more than hosepipe bans save.
It comes as more than half of England and the whole of Wales remains in official drought, following record-low rainfall and exceptionally high temperatures in July, the driest on record.
Nine water companies have so far implemented hosepipe bans in response, covering more than 23 million people, or roughly 40 per cent of England’s population, plus parts of Wales.
Shorts
Research by the industry body UKWIR found that hosepipe bans reduced water use by around 2.7 to 4.1 per cent during the 2022 drought, which would amount to 377 million to 572 million litres a day if the restrictions were applied across the whole of England.
