Water companies in south-east England have been told that if they delay introducing hosepipe bans and other water-saving measures households may get water for only a few hours a day and standpipes will have to be introduced as in the drought of 1976.
In what is shaping up to be the worst drought in 75 years, scientists warn that despite two weeks of average rains, the environment will suffer seriously unless the next few months are exceptionally wet.
"We're in a serious situation now, where both the environment and our water supplies are at risk," said Baroness Barbara Young, chief executive of the Environment Agency, calling for compulsory metering and better education of customers. "If everyone in England and Wales saved four litres a day by turning off the tap while brushing their teeth, it would be enough water to supply more than 600,000 homes every day," she said. "Water companies shouldn't just hope for rain - they must act now."
The agency urged companies to repair leaks and ban water for non-essential activities before applying to take more from rivers and groundwater.
Hydrologists and ecologists also warn that many of Britain's best-loved trees could die off. "Trees and plants will be very vulnerable over the next months," said Richard Harding, of the Centre for Hydrology and Ecology, adding that the risk of forest fires would also increase.
"The rainfall from November until earlier this month was the lowest in 40 to 50 years [across England] and in the south-east there has been nothing as bad since the 1930s," said Terry Marsh, a senior hydrologist at the centre. "The recent rain has been welcome, and ground water levels are now rising belatedly, but from a very low level. There are rivers where levels are still lower than in 1976."
Street trees in London and elsewhere will be especially vulnerable, and likely to be the first to show signs of stress. Rooted in small pockets of soil, competing for space with buried utilities, and with much of the surrounding ground covered in tarmac and concrete, their access to water is meagre at the best of times.
The environment secretary, Margaret Beckett, is expected to decide in the next few weeks whether Folkestone and Dover Water Services, particularly hard hit by the drought, should be the first company in Britain to be allowed to install compulsory water meters.
