THE hosepipe ban is to remain in place for the foreseeable future - despite weeks of heavy rain.

Mid Kent Water and Southern Water said they had no plans to lift the current restrictions, which both introduced in the summer of 2005 to cut customers’ water use.

The news may come as a surprise given the heavy rain in recent weeks. But the water companies said while plenty of rain fell in November and the early part of December, it has only been enough to start the slow process of refilling the underground sources on which they rely to keep the taps.

They said Kent needed above average rainfall throughout the winter to ensure the county’s underground aquifers - which supply 70 per cent of water supplies in the region - and reservoirs return to normal levels.

A Mid Kent Water spokesman said: “The hosepipe ban is something we are monitoring on a weekly basis. Despite recent rain we are still not yet getting a huge recharge of the underground aquifers.

“These boreholes have been at record low levels. We wouldn’t want to lift the hosepipe ban and then have to reintroduce it again next spring if we don’t get enough rainfall this winter.

“Customers can rest assured that as soon as we start to get substantial rises in water levels in the aquifers we will be lifting the hosepipe ban.”

Southern Water also said it was monitoring the situation but had no plans at present to lift the hosepipe ban.

“The underground aquifer levels could take the whole winter to recharge adequately,” said a company spokeswoman.

This summer’s drought saw Kent and the south east suffer its driest period since the 1930s and the worst drought since 1976 following two consecutive dry winters.

Residents in Yalding, near Maidstone, were keeping a close watch on weather forecasts as levels on the River Beult in the village centre rose at the end of last week. But a drier weekend saw levels fall back again.