<p><br /> Millions of householders have been warned of a possible hosepipe ban after the winter's "Biblical floods" in Cumbria were followed by a summer drought.<br /> </p><p><br /> Water levels in many reservoirs and lakes have plummeted to less than half their capacity in the county due to the driest start to the year in the North West of England since 1929.<br /> </p><p><br /> On Friday, the region's water supply firm, United Utilities, will apply to the Environment Agency (EA) for a drought permit and said they could "not rule out" a hosepipe ban. The permit will allow them to take more water supplies from Ennerdale reservoir to supply the Whitehaven area of West Cumbria following the "unprecedented" period of dry weather.<br /> </p><p><br /> Cumbria water reserves supply not only that county but millions of homes in Greater Manchester and Lancashire. There are also concerns about levels in the lakes and reservoirs in the Peak District, Pennines and North Wales, which supplies Liverpool.<br /> </p><p><br /> Although normally a region with plenty of wet weather, rainfall in the North West in May was 38 per cent of the region's long-term average, with June similarly parched, the EA said.<br /> </p><p><br /> United Utilities' John Sanders said: "If the drier than average weather continues this summer we will need to consider drought permit applications to temporarily allow increased abstraction of water from lakes and rivers. Similarly, we can't rule out the prospect of a hosepipe ban - it's 14 years since we last had one in the North West."<br /> </p><p><br /> Many towns and villages in Cumbria facing the prospect of water shortages were devastated by last November's deluge, leading to floods of "biblical proportions."<br /> </p>
