LONDON, May 16: Britain has issued its first drought order in 11 years, with suppliers likely to close the tap for all but essential uses of water in a bid to stave off what could be the worst shortage in a century.

Environment minister Ian Pearson gave southeast English utility company Sutton and East Surrey Water the order on Monday, effectively curbing or banning outright non-essential uses of water in the area it serves for six months.

The Environment Agency’s water management director, David King, suggested the message about water conservation was not getting through.

“People have the perception that there is a lot of water, yet we have less water than parts of the Sudan or the southern Mediterranean,” he told London’s Evening Standard newspaper.

Prime Minister Tony Blair’s official spokesman said on Tuesday that the onus was on utilities to implement water-saving measures, and it had encouraged them to tackle issues like leakages.

Some 13 million people in south-eastern England are already subject to hosepipe and sprinkler bans — some since last year — as two successive dry winters have left reservoirs and underwater aquifers sorely depleted.

Rainfall in the region over the last 18 months has been much lower than during the 1974-76 drought.—AFP