Some 23 million people are now forced to abide by water restrictions - while billions of litres simply go missing
Parched Britons have called on water companies to fix their leaks amid nationwide fury over "unjustified" hosepipe bans in England.
A damning survey from Ipsos revealed almost half of adults doubt water companies have properly invested in repairing leaks and upgrading infrastructure to warrant imposing hosepipe bans.
The latest ban is from Thames Water, which took effect yesterday, restricting 10 million customers from using hoses and sprinklers at home.
Following a series of sweltering heatwaves over the past month, some 23 million people are now forced to abide by water restrictions.
In areas where bans are already in force, scepticism runs deeper.
Some 58 per cent of those affected said their supplier had failed to act properly before asking households to turn off their taps.
And another quarter of respondents told Ipsos they could not accept restrictions when they were unconvinced their provider had taken sufficient steps first.
Close to half of those surveyed thought it was unfair to be told to reduce their own usage when their water firm had not visibly made an effort to conserve supplies.
In England and Wales, a staggering three billion litres of water are lost through leaks every day, accounting for roughly 20 per cent of the total water supply, Water UK says.
While two thirds of the public back hosepipe bans in principle, support drops off when customers feel the justification is not credible.
The survey also found that 47 per cent of Britons felt providers were neglecting their own obligations while demanding that the public cut their usage.
The national drought group even convened this week after a heatwave blasted Britons with scorching temperatures - with 12 straight days above 30C.
England has recorded just three per cent of its typical July rainfall, pushing eight regions, such as East Anglia and the South West, into prolonged dry weather status, the final classification before an official drought declaration.
Earlier on Thursday, drought was officially declared across swathes of Wales and parts of the West Midlands, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has said.
Seven suppliers, including Affinity Water, Anglian Water, Cambridge Water, South East Water, Southern Water, Thames Water and Welsh Water, have either enacted or announced bans, with further curbs likely if conditions persist.
Thames Water's own network haemorrhages roughly 570 million litres daily through leaking pipes — exceeding 200 billion litres annually. For many customers, that figure alone makes the case for restrictions ring hollow.
Met Office chief meteorologist Will Lang warned forecasters had little confidence significant rainfall would arrive in the weeks ahead.
David Henderson, chief executive of Water UK, maintained that demand had hit "unprecedented levels" after the warmest spring and June in recorded history, adding that hundreds of technicians were actively deployed to tackle leaks.
Helen Wakeham, who chairs the national drought group and serves as the Environment Agency's director of water, said: "Dry weather depletes our water, while the hot conditions mean we use more of it.
"We are seeing the effects on our farmers, our wildlife, and the amount available for public and business use."
England is projected to require an extra five billion litres of water per day by 2055 to satisfy public demand. To help bridge that gap, companies are planning 10 new reservoirs by 2050, with one at Havant Thicket in Hampshire already under construction.
A Water UK spokesman said the industry had reduced leakage by approximately 40 per cent since privatisation and intended to cut it by a further 17 per cent before the end of the decade.
