A severe drought has been declared across parts of southern England after months of low rainfall.
Parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex are affected.
The announcement by the Environment Agency follows a meeting of the National Drought Group, which reviewed water resources and drought conditions across England.
Supplies have been significantly impacted by high demand following the hottest summer on record.
The government said customer water supplies would be uninterrupted.
Declaring a severe drought "ensures proactive steps are taken to safeguard water before any disruption occurs".
The government's plans include:
The Environment Agency to increase compliance checks on businesses that withdraw water from natural sources to ensure they are only taking permitted quantities of water
The government said the change to severe drought status had been prompted by specific concerns for two major reservoirs, Ardingly in West Sussex and Wimbleball in Somerset.
Wimbleball serves about 300,000 properties across east Devon, north Devon, Somerset, west Dorset and West Somerset.
Environment Agency chief executive Philip Duffy said: "Record-breaking summer heat and severe drought have put our water resources under immense pressure.
"Recovery depends on both rainfall and how much water we use. We cannot change the weather, but water companies can act now.
"We expect them to follow their drought plans and take the steps needed to secure public water supplies.
"We are also asking everyone to use less water. That will leave more in our rivers and the environment, helping farmers and protecting wildlife and nature."
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