Overview

• Southern Water banned tanker withdrawals from Hampshire standpipes that had been supplying Conholt Park after an investigation, with its managing director calling the practice unacceptable.
• Residents in Andover filmed multiple tankers filling at the standpipes and travelling to the Wiltshire estate to help top up a newly built lake.
• The deliveries were lawful because the water was purchased for construction, which falls outside domestic hosepipe bans under current rules.
• Southern Water launched a review of monitoring and legal loopholes and applied for a drought order to restrict business filling of lakes and pools and to permit temporary abstraction from the River Test chalk stream.
• Estate representatives said most tanker water supported building work, some went to irrigation and the lake, and supplies were adjusted after Southern Water’s request.