Thames Water has announced a hosepipe ban that will affect 1.1 million people in several areas.
During the ban, people are not allowed to use hosepipes for watering gardens, washing cars or filling small pools.
This ban comes after a shortage of rain and rising water usage, which has put a strain on the water supply.
As per multiple reports, starting from July 22, the ban will affect parts of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire.
It is pertinent to note that anyone caught using a hosepipe during the ban could be fined up to £1,000.
Thames Water said this temporary rule will apply to areas with postcodes starting with OX, GL, SN, RG4, RG8 and RG9.
Nevil Muncaster, strategic water resources director at Thames Water, said in a statement, "We have to take action now. This has been a challenging spring and summer with big spikes in customer demand during hot dry days and very little rainfall to replenish local supplies in the Thames Valley," as per BBC.
He further noted that he doesn't expect the water situation "will improve any time soon."
The Environment Agency said that England has had less rainfall than usual at the beginning of this year, making it the driest start to a year since 1976.
Also, this is the fifth month in a row that England has had less rain than average.
However, business that rely on hosepipes for their work like garden centres and car washes are not affected by the ban.
