Following the hottest summer on UK record according to the Met Office, Dwr Cymru Welsh Water has confirmed that no temporary use measures, or hosepipe bans, will be needed across its operating area this year.
Photo: Teifi Pools areial view June 2025
The confirmation comes as the Mid & South Ceredigion water zone has returned to normal status after being the Welsh Water zone to reach ‘Developing Drought’ conditions earlier this due to low reservoir levels.
The water company said hosepipe bans were avoided across its operating area through a combination of customers' responsible water use and the ongoing investment being made in leakage management and infrastructure improvements.
However, with hotter, drier summers becoming more common, Welsh Water is emphasising that consistent rainfall and continued customers support are essential to help reservoirs recover over the winter months.
Welsh Water said its accelerated leakage repair programme has played a significant impact on preserving water supplies across Wales, with over 16,000 repairs across the operating area since the start of the year - including 817 in Ceredigion between April and August.
Natural Resources Wales has classified most of Wales as being in ‘environmental drought’, with low soil moisture and river levels. Five regions in England remain in official ‘drought’ following the driest six months since 1976. Hosepipe bans are still in force affecting millions of households, with National Drought Group having recently described the current water shortfall situation in England as a 'nationally significant incident.'
Marc Davies, Welsh Water's Director of Water Services said:
"The dry weather this year has put huge strain on our water network and supply systems. Despite this, we’ve maintained supplies without introducing restrictions thanks to our customers’ efforts to use water wisely, and the proactive work of our teams, who have been repairing around 700 leaks each week throughout the summer. Every drop really does count, and we’re hugely grateful to customers who have taken simple steps to reduce their use. Small actions have made a big difference collectively.
"With hotter, drier summers becoming the norm, we ask everyone to keep using water wisely so our reservoirs can recover fully over the winter and be ready for next year.”
On a typical day, the company treats and distributes around 850 million litres of clean water to its three million customers. When temperatures last soared above 30 degrees earlier in the summer, the daily demand exceeded 1 billion litres. The increases were especially significant in more rural areas and those impacted by tourism.
The company’s fleet of water tankers have been moving water around the network to keep underground drinking water tanks topped up in areas where there are high levels of demand.
Sulzer has launched a new global Center of Excellence (CoE) for Water Treatment Solutions - the CoE consolidates Sulzer’s wastewater treatment expertise in a unified and global manner.
“SAS (Surplus Activated Sludge) is a bit weird and 
Owen Mace has taken over as Director of the British Plastics Federation (BPF) Plastic Pipes Group on the retirement of Caroline Ayres. He was previously Standards and Technical Manager for the group.
PureTec Separations, the Ledbury-based water treatment engineering firm, has appointed Dan Norman as its new Sales Manager – Water Process Systems, supporting the company’s continued growth in the UK and international markets.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.