Overview
- Southern Water’s restriction began at 9 am on July 21 across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, prohibiting hosepipe use for watering gardens, cleaning vehicles and filling pools with fines of up to £1,000.
- Thames Water will introduce a temporary usage ban from July 22 for households in specified postcodes across Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and parts of Berkshire.
- Water firms have said that recent heavy rainfall and thunderstorms are unlikely to restore reservoir and aquifer levels sufficiently to lift the bans.
- Statutory exemptions allow the use of watering cans, approved irrigation systems and hosepipes for vulnerable customers, fish pond top-ups, newly laid turf and other essential purposes.
- Local officials and advocacy groups have criticised persistent leaks and underinvestment, urging a major funding boost to repair ageing infrastructure and bolster long-term water resilience.