Christine Colvin, from the Rivers Trust, said: “We felt these bans were coming quite late. Considering we were having an incredibly dry July following a year with little rain, I think many of these emergency measures ‘should have announced in mid-July and implemented in the second half of July instead of leaving them in mid-July.Aug.
“That’s a full month of usage at the hottest time of the year when we really could have been saving on the supply side.”
The Environment Agency has warned that much of England is headed for drought if the dry weather continues. Very warm weather is forecast for southern England next week, with temperatures in the mid 30s.
July was the driest on record in south-east England and East Anglia, with just 10 per cent of average rainfall in the south-east.
In Cornwall, 40 firefighters tackled a grass fire near Truro on Saturday, while in Norfolk the River Wensum stopped flowing past a historic watermill for the first time in a century.
On Friday, Scotland moved into a “red alert” for drought, prompting the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to implement its first water bans, restricting use for industrial users, such as distilleries and golf courses.
Addressing the need for action by water companies to plug leaks, Mr Eustice said: “The onus is on companies to do more to reduce leaks, building on the progress made in recent years .
“We expect water companies to step up, adapt, innovate better in their approaches to reducing demand and better support customers with measures to reduce water consumption. If we don’t see the changes that we and the public rightly expect, I will not hesitate to step in and take further action.”