HOSEPIPE bans could be imposed on the Midlands by the end of the summer as water companies warn the region is heading towards a drought.

Severn Trent has revealed that the last seven months have been the driest since 1976 – the year of the drought when the Midlands turned into a dustbowl.

If this summer stays as dry then a hosepipe ban could be in place towards the end of the year.

A spokeswoman for Severn Trent, which supplies water to Birmingham and parts of the Black Country, said levels in its reservoirs around the country were currently running at 82 per cent – nine per cent less than it should be at this time of year.

But she said at the moment the situation was “okay” because although some of the reservoirs were only 40 per cent full, others were at 95 per cent capacity.

Severn Trent relies on reservoirs for 30 per cent of its water supply, with rivers and ground water making up the rest.

“It’s not a problem at the moment because we can simply take water from one reservoir which is high and put it into one which is low to balance them out,” she said.

“Things are okay at the moment, but if the dry spell continues then we cannot rule out the need for restrictions later in the year.”

She said a dry winter meant reservoirs did not get the water they normally relied upon to replenish their stocks for the summer.

Spring remained dry, with March and April being exceptionally bad – in April the region only received 13 per cent of its usual rainfall.

There was little comfort for Severn Trent from the Met Office which said that Birmingham was on course to experience a drier-than-normal May.