Bottled water companies in the UK have been asked to build up emergency supplies in case of a summer drought.

Talks have begun between the British Soft Drinks Association and large bottled water suppliers on how to cope with anticipated shortages in hospitals and households.

"We believe it is sensible to have contingency plans in place," an association spokesman told The Telegraph. "We have had talks before to deal with interruptions, for example as a result of contamination." Thames Water, which banned hose pipes in 1990, said this past winter was one of the driest on record but played down the significance of the discussions.

"Reservoir levels are OK, but there is a problem recharging ground water levels," a spokesman said.

The threat to supplies has been exacerbated by leaking pipes which, officials claim, leads to the loss of up to three billion liters of water each day.

Source: The Telegraph   April 4, 2005