USING hosepipes to water gardens and clean cars will be outlawed because of a water supply crisis, water company bosses will announce today.

The ban, which will come into effect on Friday, is the first of its kind in the region for 14 years.

United Utilities (UU) claim it is necessary because the first six months of the year were drier than expected and reservoirs in Cumbria are running low.

UU’s water regulation and strategy manager John Sanders said: “We will need much more significant rainfall before the position starts to turn around. We are asking our customers to please observe the hosepipe ban and do what they can to save water in other areas of their daily lives.

“It is not a decision we have taken lightly, but a hosepipe can use as much water in an hour as a family of four would use in one day.

“This ban will help us to safeguard essential water supplies to our customers if the drought continues.”

But UU also loses more water per day through leaks than almost all other water companies. Around 460m litres every day are lost, almost one in every four litres of water that comes through our taps. Only Thames Water and Severn Trent lose a greater volume.

UU, which made a £500m pre-tax profit last year and whose chief executive Philip Green was awarded a £924,000 bonus, said fixing leaks is one of its top priorities. It is investing £200m over the next five years on improving its pipe network.

According to figures from water industry regulator OFWAT, UU beat its leakage target by 5m litres a day.

A UU spokeswoman said: “Leaks are a major focus for us. We’re asking people to be water wise and we need to be water wise, too.

“We have halved the amount of leakage since the last drought in 1995/96.”

UU has 7m customers across the North West.

Expert calls for more water and less wastage >>