Last year’s flood in Maida Vale

HUNDREDS of trees could die during the hosepipe ban unless special exemptions are made, council chiefs are warning.

Thames Water’s ban, which came into effect on Wednesday, outlaws use of running water other than for drinking or washing in the home.

The profit-making company, whose top bosses are on seven-figure salaries, said fines of up to £1,000 can be meted out for rogue water use.

Prohibited uses include watering a garden using a hosepipe, cleaning patios and cars, filling a paddling pool or pond, or maintaining an ornamental fountain.

The council is trying to get special dispensation to water newly-planted trees from standpipes.

Cabinet member for city management and air quality Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg said: “If the council is unable to water trees, and we do not have sufficient rainfall, there are likely to be significant losses of new trees, and a damaging impact on local streets and on the council’s greening agenda and climate emergency response.

“So we have submitted representations to Thames Water to ask that the watering of newly-planted trees is exempt from the ban, on the grounds that new trees are part of the solution to sustainable water management and climate change-induced drought and high temperatures.

“Our tree contactors currently fill up their truck-mounted bowser for tree watering from a borehole at their depot, which would be exempt from the ban, but this has to be topped up during the watering rounds from standpipes in Westminster, which would fall within the ban as currently worded.”

He added: “We will do all we can to protect Westminster’s trees at this very difficult time of unprecedented high temperatures and little rainfall.”

After the driest July on record, and below average rainfall in 10 of the last 12 months, water levels in rivers and reservoirs are much lower than usual.

Thames Water said the recent heatwave increased demand for water to record highs. Exemptions could be made when there were health or safety issues of a “risk to human or animal health”. Exemptions could apply to newly-laid turf, newly-sown lawns, and newly-planted trees 28 days on from the day of planting only.

Experts say, due to climate change, the privatised water industry will have to improve its leakage rates considerably, build new reservoirs and persuade us all to use much less water. There were calls to bring the service back in-house following last year’s flood chaos in Maida Vale.

In a statement Thames Water said it was “not acceptable to be losing so much precious water” but added that rectifying the problem “would not be quick”. The company said 60,000 leaks were fixed last year, adding: “We are repairing over 1,100 leaks per week, whether they are visible or hidden below ground.”