FARNHAM residents face possible water shortages this summer following a year of unusually dry weather in 2017.

The town’s fresh drinking water supply comes from boreholes deep underground, and according to South East Water groundwater levels started this winter’s recharge season “at a lower level than we would have liked” - prompting fears of a possible drought.

This has been blamed on a dry winter in 2016/17 and a “drier than average" beginning to this winter in the South East. Between October and November the region saw a little more than 50 per cent of the rainfall normally expected.

However, South East Water remains optimistic after a return to wetter weather in December.

Lee Dance, the company’s head of water resources, said: “About three quarters of our supply comes from aquifers which are natural water-bearing permeable rocks deep underground where water storage levels change over a much longer period of time than in surface reservoirs.

“This is because it can take weeks or even months for rain water to percolate through the layers of soil and rock.

“However, we are mid-way through the winter recharge season and, as always, we will continue to monitor the levels closely.

“Whatever the weather we always ask our customers to use water wisely but we are stepping up the messaging even more so this year to help the recovery of these aquifers before the hot weather returns and demand increases again.”