Bottled water stations have opened in Surrey as residents were left without water due to a technical problem on one of the hottest days of the year.
Many residents woke up to a reduced water supply or low pressure at their taps due to complications at water treatment works at Netley Mill, which serves 8,500 properties in Cranleigh and surrounding villages.
Thames Water said it was doing everything it could to resume supplies, but in the meantime it had set up three centers where local people could collect bottled water and would open more if there was demand.
He advised that the supplies were for “essential use, such as drinking, cooking and washing hands” and urged people to be considerate, taking only what they needed.
“If you have a neighbor who can’t get to a water station, let us know and we’ll do everything we can to make sure our limited supplies are distributed fairly,” he added in a statement.
Jeremy Hunt, the MP for South West Surrey, said he had “grave concerns” about the water cut and had contacted Thames Water chief executive Sarah Bentley on Saturday morning.
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Homes in postcodes GU5, GU6, RH4, RH5 and RH12 have been affected by the problem, which came a day after drought was officially declared in eight regions of England.
Welsh Water, Southern Water and South East Water have imposed hose bans, while Yorkshire Water’s restrictions will be introduced on August 26.
Thames Water admitted this week that its efforts to curb water wastage are not as effective as hoped and it is losing more than 635 million liters of water a day.
The company is expected to introduce a hose ban in the coming weeks, affecting 15 million people in and around London.
Rising temperatures have fueled bushfires across the country, with four fire engines tackling a blaze in Derbyshire on Friday, while firefighters were also called to fires in east London and Dorset.
The hot weather has prompted the Met Office to issue an amber heat warning as the UK could see temperatures of up to 35 degrees over the weekend.