A drought has been declared in the West and East Midlands, the Environment Agency said.
Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, East Anglia, and Thames area have moved into a prolonged dry weather status, joining Yorkshire, Cumbria and Lancashire, and Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire, which are already in drought.
Across England, rainfall was 20 per cent less than the long-term average for June, which was also the hottest on record for the country with heatwaves driving unusually high demand for water, the Environment Agency said.
It follows Thames Water's announcement that it will implement a hosepipe ban from next week, with other bans already brought in by South East Water for customers in Kent and Sussex.
Hot weather has left much of the UK due for a reprieve as the third heatwave this summer comes to an end.
The agency, which last met to evaluate the conditions on June 5, said that the situation has deteriorated further.
The NDG heard that, without further substantial rainfall, some water companies may need to implement additional drought measures.
These would be likely to include more temporary hosepipe bans in the affected areas.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
GETTY
|A drought has been declared in the West and East Midlands, the Environment Agency said
Helen Wakeham, Environment Agency director for water and National Drought Group chairwoman, said: "This has been the driest start to the year since 1976, and we need to make sure our water supplies can sustain us through the summer.
Today I have asked all the partners who make up the National Drought Group to step up their operational response to manage the drought and use water wisely. Environment Agency teams are out on the ground actively monitoring river levels and working to ensure there is enough water for the people and the environment.”
Water minister Emma Hardy said: "I have asked the National Drought Group to step up its response to ensure we are successfully managing the impacts of ongoing dry weather. Water companies must now take action to follow their drought plans – I will hold them to account if they delay.
"We face a growing water shortage in the next decade. That’s why we are pushing ahead with urgent water reforms under our plan for change, which includes £104 billion of private investment to build nine reservoirs and new pipes to cut leaks.”
PA | Thames Water has announced that it will be implementing a hosepipe ban from next week, affecting millions of customers
The public are also being urged to use water wisely across England and comply with any local restrictions as the dry weather continues to impact water resources nationwide.
Temperatures, which have exceeded 30C in several parts of the country and broken multiple records over the weekend, are widely forecast to cool.
Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said: "The heatwave is starting to come to an end as low pressure starts to move in from the Atlantic. We say goodbye to high pressure as this area of low pressure takes over, bringing bands of heavy rain, some thundery downpours, but also bringing in some fresher conditions across many parts."
As well as disruption to local communities as they brace for a scorching summer, British farmers have told GB News that they are feeling the strain caused by the driest start to the year since 1976.
GETTY
|The Environment Agency said it expects and will ensure water companies follow their drought management plans as well as step up work to fix leaks
NFU Deputy President David Exwood highlighted the stark contrast in conditions facing farmers, which could result in yields being affected.
He told GB News: "After the wettest 18 months on record, we've now had one of the driest springs on record, and that's challenging because it means crops haven't grown. Development is slow, yields are going to be affected."
He noted that while the sunny weather has been enjoyed by Britons across the country, for farmers "that crucial spring period of planting and growth just hasn't given the results that it needed to."
Exwood, who runs a mixed arable and beef farm in Sussex, added: "If it remains hot and dry, it will get very challenging."
GETTY
|Temperatures which have exceeded 30C in several parts of the country and broken multiple records over the weekend are widely forecast to cool
The Environment Agency said it expects and will ensure water companies follow their drought management plans as well as step up work to fix leaks.
Residents in Yorkshire, which were the first to have water restrictions this year, accused the companies of poor management.
Sheffield resident, John Fleck, told GB News: "It's just another company charging us more and providing us with less, which seems to be a trend at the moment.
"Other countries, much warmer than ours, somehow always seem to manage, but then in the UK, leaks are often left unfixed for weeks. The reservoirs aren't looked after, and we seem to go full circle between flooding in the winter to hosepipe bans in the summer."
Richard Stephen Taylor said: "With the ludicrous price rises and lack of repairs to the network, they cannot justify requesting the paying public to pay more and use less. They need to stop paying the fat cats more and actually pay the ground workers to go out and do the repairs and improvements needed.
"More houses are being built that all need supply. Use some money to build another reservoir, maybe, or tap into the ocean, we are an island surrounded by water after all."