After 13 months: Water restrictions come to an end

After 13 months in place, the UK has finally seen its final hosepipe bans lifted in Devon and Cornwall.

Initially enacted last August, the restrictions were introduced to maintain water levels at key reservoirs as drought bit.

South West Water (SWW), the water company who introduced the bans, say that reservoir capacities have risen but warn that water should still be used conservatively.

Levels at Colliford Reservoir have risen by 28% compared to last year while Roadford Reservoir is up by 10%.

Restrictions were introduced to other regions in the UK at the time, but those in place for Cornwall and parts of Devon were the final remaining bans.

Summer downpours helped to restock the reservoirs, with precipitation levels 27% higher than average between the months of March and August.

Meanwhile, when the bans were introduced in August 2022, they followed the driest July since 1935 for England amid a heatwave which saw temperatures rise above 40°C for the first time in the UK.

High pressure was largely in charge across the British Isles, which, coupled with a southerly air flow, allowed very hot air to move in from North Africa and Iberia, and remain in situ.

A more startling sight at the time was the scene at the source of the River Thames, which dried in the conditions. Weather & Radar meteorology Tamsin Green visited the site at the time.