Southern Water has issued a statement clarifying its recent application for a Drought Order at the River Test following what it describes as “misleading media coverage”.

The water company says it “understands the concerns about this and would like to set the record straight about what the order means for our customers.”

A spokesperson for Southern Water said:

"The drought order we’ve applied for is a future contingency measure to ensure we keep taps running. But we don’t anticipate having to use it – nor will it allow us to take more water than normal.

“That’s thanks to households and businesses across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight using less water, and our teams working around the clock to fix leaks and optimise our network of water pipes and supply works.

“In the longer term, we’re working hard to introduce new sources of water in the UK’s largest water resource project Water For Life – Hampshire including work underway on England's first reservoir in 30 years and pipelines to help us move water around the region. This will ensure we continue to play our part in protecting our chalk streams, and the wildlife that depends on it.

The statement says Southern Water follows a strict legal process and that following the driest Spring in 132 years, which caused water shortages across the country, the company has to plan for contingencies should this prolonged dry spell continue.

The drought order would allow it to continue to take water from the River Test to keep customers’ taps running and grant Southern Water permission to abstract the same amount from the River Test even if river flows are lower.

“We must be clear, applying is a contingency precaution – it would only need to be implemented in a worst-case scenario”, the statement says.