Water moved from Wales amid 'imminent' hosepipe ban threat

Water is being moved from Wales to boost depleted supplies across north-west England, amid warnings of an "imminent" hosepipe ban in the region.

Reservoir levels have dropped during the heatwave, with those in Greater Manchester particularly affected, United Utilities (UU) said.

The company said there had been a "massive increase" in demand for water.

Supplies from the Lake District and Pennines are also being drawn upon to help ease the shortage.

UU said it was struggling to process water quickly enough to meet high demand, while parts of Wayoh Reservoir, at Edgworth near Bolton, have completely dried up.

The company said it was providing an additional half a billion litres of water a day above what it normally supplies to customers.

While Greater Manchester has been a particular problem area, UU said the whole region was now at risk of a hosepipe ban "in days rather than weeks" if things did not improve.

A spokesman said: "Wayoh tells the story of the prolonged heatwave.

"Greater Manchester is served from various water sources, at present we are using our integrated regional water network moving water from North Wales, the Lakes and the Pennines to keep taps flowing.

"The prolonged hot weather means the region's reservoir stores have decreased since last week, with some reservoirs looking more dramatic than others.

"We are still encouraging our customers to voluntarily use water efficiently, by avoiding the use of water-hungry devices, particularly outside in the garden.

"A hosepipe ban could be imminent. If we can't bring the demand down for water, that would be the next logical step, and that could be in days rather than weeks."

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