20 million people in the South East of England will be affected by hosepipe bans coming into force today. Seven water companies have announced bans in drought stricken parts of the country. Although the area of England officially in drought stretches to East Yorkshire, water companies in Yorkshire have not yet introduced the measures.

Where a ban is in force, anyone found violating restrictions faces a £1,000 fine. The introduction of a hosepipe ban, which had been hinted at for many months before announcements were made, follows one of driest two-year periods on record.

For parts of the South East, the last six months have been the driest since 1921. Climate scientists revealed this week that severely affected parts of England require twice their average rainfall over the next two months to remediate the effects of drought, though the scientists, from Reading University’s Walker Institute, acknowledged that the likelihood of this happening is “almost nil”.

Upon announcing restrictions, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said, "These temporary restrictions will help protect the public's water supply in the areas most affected by the record low levels of rainfall we have experienced. We can all help reduce the effects of drought by respecting these restrictions and being smarter about how we use water."

Defra has convened a number of drought summits over the past months, meeting with water companies, wildlife groups, the Environment Agency and farmers to develop solutions to the problem of drought, which looks to become more common as climate change takes effect and populations rise.

Environment minister Richard Benyon, also speaking today, suggested stricter measures may be adopted if  there is a continued lack of rain; experts have warned that the severity of the drought will be dictated by the amount of rainfall England receives over the spring and into summer. He said, "We are planning for the worst case scenario of a third dry winter. We want to make sure farmers can still produce the food we need, and that there's enough water for the energy industry."

Defra has asked the public to mitigate water use, even going so far as to publicise guidelines, advising members of the public ‘not to leave the tap running whilst brushing teeth.’ Ms Spelman said, in February, "It is not just the responsibility of Government, water companies and businesses to act against drought. We are asking for the help of everyone by urging them to use less water and to start now."

However, water company watchdog Ofwat suggests one in every six litres of water is wasted through leaks before it reaches consumers. The watchdog revealed water companies in England and Wales leaked 3.3 billion litres a day in 2010/11. A number of water companies, including Anglian Water, one of those that today introduced a hosepipe ban, failed to meet their targets for reducing loss from leakage last year.

Whilst Ms Spelman and Mr Benyon today defended the water companies, only the Environment Agency has urged business to step up and do more to conserve water. The agency today said water companies must do more to address waste and urged other businesses to conserve water; it encouraged businesses to carry out water audits to establish where savings can be made, reduce unnecessary use in the business and, where possible, collect and reuse rainwater.

In affected regions in particular, and across the UK as a whole, many rivers are experiencing lower than usual flows, according to the Environment Agency, with two-thirds "exceptionally low." Whilst many reservoirs remain within normal range, groundwater levels have been severely affected by two consecutive dry winters, which have hampered recharge.

The Environment Agency has introduced a range of measures to ease the burden on farmers reliant on abstractions during the dry period. The Agency said it is working with the NFU to inform farmers subject to restrictions on when they can take advantage of high flows.

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