Overview

• Yorkshire Water’s hosepipe ban went into effect on July 11, barring non-essential outdoor uses—including watering gardens, washing cars, filling pools and cleaning surfaces—with penalties up to £1,000.
• South East Water will impose a Temporary Use Ban starting July 18 across Kent and Sussex, restricting hosepipe use for around 1.4 million customers until further notice.
• Reservoirs supplying Yorkshire and the South East stand at roughly 56 percent of capacity—more than 26 percentage points below normal—while peak demand reached a record 680 million litres a day on June 30.
• Thames Water has warned that its 16 million customers in the Thames Valley may face similar restrictions if the prolonged dry spell continues to strain supplies.
• Environment Agency and government officials are calling for urgent infrastructure investment, including leak repairs and nine new reservoirs under a £104 billion sector plan, to avert widespread shortages.