Water company reveals emergency plan to import drinking water from NORWAY as 280,000 Brits face running dry

1 comment 1 Next A WATER company has plans to ship drinking water from Norway after a severe drought was declared. Around 280,000 residents served by South East Water face running out next month. South East’s emergency Level Four will be hit when Ardingly reservoir nears empty Credit: AFP via Getty Images South East Water bosses say just four to six weeks’ supply remains at Ardingly Credit: Facebook/South East Water Advertisement And the firm’s extreme drought proposals include using sea tankers to bring in supplies from overseas. South East’s emergency Level Four will be hit when Ardingly reservoir, which is just 19 per cent full, nears empty. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Email address Please provide a valid email. Your info will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy You'll now receive top stories, breaking news, and more, straight to your email. No water company has ever imported drinking water from abroad, though Southern Water has previously drawn up similar plans. South East Water bosses say just four to six weeks’ supply remains at Ardingly, West Sussex, following the hottest summer on record. Read more on drought THIRST TRAPS Map reveals SIX regions hit by severe drought in UK as 24m under hosepipe ban HIGH & DRY Severe drought declared in SIX regions of England as millions under hosepipe ban The extreme proposals include: “Import of potable water using sea tankers. Supplies are typically from overseas, such as Norway .” The company’s other severe drought schemes include standpipes on the street — last seen in 1976 — and shipping container desalination plants , turning seawater into ­drinking water. Nick Price, the head of water resources at South East Water, said: “While importing water from ­Norway is listed within our drought plan, it is strictly a last-resort ­contingency option. “It is not an action currently being considered. Advertisement Most read in The Sun TERROR 'PLOT' Iranian operative 'plotting chilling new terrorism campaign from inside jail' FATAL DRIVE First pics of man, 35, killed alongside boy, 6, after mum drove on soccer field NET ZERO REVOLT Andy Burnham faces Labour revolt over North Sea drilling ban and Net Zero THE SUN SAYS We cannot escape our need for fossil fuels - PM must put good of country first “We have more teams than ever working to find and fix leaks, have undertaken changes to our network and implemented other measures, including reducing the amount of water released from Ardingly.” The company has also applied to extend hosepipe restrictions. 1 comment 1