Hosepipe ban in force for millions of households - is your area affected?

Millions of households across southern and eastern England are now subject to hosepipe bans as water companies respond to what has been one of the driest twelve-month periods on record, with reservoir levels falling below 50 percent in several regions.

The restrictions, which prohibit the use of hosepipes for watering gardens, washing cars and filling paddling pools, affect approximately 12 million people served by seven water companies. Thames Water, Southern Water, South East Water, Anglian Water, Affinity Water, SES Water and Portsmouth Water have all imposed restrictions, with others warning that bans may follow if conditions do not improve.

The bans have exposed the regional divide in water availability. While the South and East of England are under restriction, the North and West, served primarily by United Utilities and Severn Trent, have largely avoided shortages thanks to higher rainfall and greater reservoir capacity. The disparity has prompted calls for a national water grid that would allow water to be transferred from wetter to drier regions, a proposal that engineers say is technically feasible but would cost tens of billions of pounds.

The immediate trigger is a period of exceptionally low rainfall. The twelve months to June 2026 were the driest in England since 1976, with some regions receiving less than 60 percent of their long-term average rainfall. But the underlying problem is structural: per capita water consumption in England has barely changed in two decades, while the population has grown by more than 8 million.

Water companies have been instructed to reduce leakage by 50 percent by 2030, but progress has been slow. The Environment Agency has warned that without significant investment in new supply infrastructure and demand reduction, the current restrictions could become a permanent feature of summers in the South East.