Overview

• Southern Water ordered tanker firms to stop taking its water for Stephen Schwarzman’s Conholt Park after residents filmed repeated collections from Hampshire standpipes.
• Company officials said usage from the standpipes rose significantly in the past week and confirmed a ban on deliveries to the estate’s lake.
• Southern Water is conducting a review to tighten any legal loopholes and says it is holding robust discussions with licensed suppliers.
• Blackstone and the estate said the work complied with licensing rules for non-domestic construction, estimated only 8–9% of recent transported water went to the lake, and adjusted sourcing following the utility’s request.
• A temporary use ban on domestic hosepipes was introduced on 5 August for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight due to low reservoir levels after England’s driest start to a year since 1976.