From 8 am tomorrow (Friday, August 19) a temporary hosepipe ban comes into force across the county, to ‘protect Pembrokeshire’s water supplies and environment’.

Welsh Water has stated that the ‘Temporary Use Ban’ will mean that customers will not be able to use a hosepipe to carry out activities in and around their properties such as watering plants or filling paddling pools or hot tubs, following the ‘driest year since 1976’.

Pembrokeshire has only seen just over 60% of the expected rainfall between March and July and since becoming aware of the lower than normal rainfall, the company has undertaken a number of activities to help conserve water in the area.

Ian Christie, Welsh Water’s Managing Director of Water Services said: “We have not seen such prolonged dry conditions in Pembrokeshire since 1976.

“Introducing the hosepipe ban is not a decision we have taken lightly, however if we are to make sure there is enough water to see us through the rest of the summer and into the autumn then we need to act now to try and prevent any further restrictions later on.

“The ban will apply to just over 2% of the three million population we serve in Wales. More broadly we do not intend to introduce restrictions more widely across our operating area.

“We have done a lot of work to communicate with customers in the area over the past few months about the importance of not wasting any water and we really do appreciate the steps people have already taken.

“We would urge everyone now across Pembrokeshire to respect the ban and not use a hosepipe. There are exceptions, particularly for those holding a Blue Badge or on our Priority Service Register.”

A full list of what people aren’t allowed to do under the ban and the exceptions can be found on the website: www.dwrcymru.com/drought.