Sutton and East Surrey Water hosepipe ban remains

Underground water sources are rising after heavy rain during the spring but not enough to lift a hosepipe ban, a water company has said.

Sutton and East Surrey currently has a hosepipe ban in force and said the restriction would remain in place.

A spokesman said water levels are being monitored but it was impossible to say how much water would seep underground.

Four companies still have hosepipe bans in place while three others have lifted the restriction.

The spokesman said: "Groundwater is beginning to recover, which is obviously very welcome news.

"It's recovering at a level which is encouraging, but we're not there yet in terms of getting back to normal."

"We've had a massive amount of rain since the spring and they [aquifers] are beginning to rise at last from what in some cases have been record low levels."

He said the water company could only monitor the situation continuously and hope for improvement, but "just had to wait and see".

Sutton and East Surrey, which serves customers across east Surrey, West Sussex, west Kent and south London, takes 85% of its supplies from underground sources.

It said South East Water, Veolia Water Central and Veolia Water Southeast were also heavily dependent on underground supplies and had also kept hosepipe bans in place.

Thames Water, Southern Water and Anglian Water lifted their restrictions earlier this month after spring rainfall replenished their reservoirs.