Hosepipe bans hit more households – what you need to know

The first hosepipe ban for this year has come into effect across Yorkshire – and more are on the way in other parts of England.

Yorkshire Water has put restrictions in place across the region, and there are bans coming in for Kent and Sussex in South East England and Swindon, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire in the coming days.

It comes after a report by the Environment Agency (EA) said England as a whole is facing huge public water shortages unless “urgent action” is taken.

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It warned that the country faces a five-billion-litre-a-day shortfall for public water supplies by 2055 due to climate change, population growth, and environmental pressures.

So when do the restrictions come into effect, what do they mean for affected households and what have water companies said?

Restrictions that have come into effect

Yorkshire Water’s hosepipe ban – officially called a Temporary Usage Ban (TUB) – affects any property that the company supplies with water.

The company said the ban does not apply to customers who receive wastewater services from Yorkshire Water, but clean water supply from another supplier like Severn Trent.

Restrictions are due to be in place until groundwater stocks are back to where they need to be.

In its guidance, Yorkshire Water says it “can’t say for certain” how long this will take, as it depends on when the region receives significant rainfall, returning its reservoir levels to “a situation much closer to normal”.

Announcing the ban, Yorkshire Water’s Mr Kaye said: “Introducing these restrictions is not a decision we have taken lightly, and we’ve been doing everything we can to avoid having to put them in place.”

In May, Yorkshire and the northwest of England officially entered drought after the driest spring in 132 years.

From February to June, Yorkshire received just 15cm of rain, less than half what is expected in an average year.

Where else will there be a hosepipe ban?

South East Water has announced a hosepipe ban will be put in place for its customers in Kent and Sussex from 18 July.

It says it will also “continue to monitor the situation” in the parts of Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire that it supplies.

In a statement, the company said: “Demand for drinking water in Kent and Sussex has reached record levels since May – with the ongoing warm and dry weather, we’re all using far more water than usual.

“This situation has left us with no choice but to restrict the use of hose pipes and sprinklers, so we can help our reservoirs and underground water storage recover.

It said it had “tried everything possible to avoid these restrictions” but added: “If we don’t put a hosepipe ban in place now, there’s a really high risk of customers experiencing widespread issues such as low pressure or no water.”

The same ban was implemented by South East Water in the summers of 2022 and 2023 as well.

Thames Water has said another hosepipe ban will cover Swindon, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire from Tuesday 22 July.

The ban covers households with a postcode starting with OX, GL, SN and RG4, RG8 and RG9.

About 1.1 million customers will be affected by the restriction, Sky News understands.

Nevil Muncaster, strategic water resources director at Thames Water, said: “This has been a challenging spring and summer with big spikes in customer demand during hot dry days and very little rainfall to replenish local supplies in the Thames Valley.

“Given the continued warm, dry weather we do not anticipate that the situation will improve any time soon so we have to take action now.”

What do the bans mean?

They mean customers are prohibited from using hosepipes for things like watering a garden, filling a paddling pool, cleaning paths and patios or washing a car.

But where water is central to businesses the ban doesn’t apply. Garden centres and car washes, for example, are exempt.

Anyone who breaches the ban without permission from the water company could be fined up to £1,000.

Easy ways to cut water usage

While the EA is urging water companies to manage demand and reduce water leaks, it has also issued advice to the public on how to limit their water use. Its tips include:

• Shortening showers
• Turning off taps when brushing teeth
• Using full loads for washing machines and dishwashers
• Collecting rainwater for garden use
• Deleting old emails to reduce pressure on data centre servers.

Water UK, the trade association for the water industry, said customers can start to help leave more water in the environment by making small changes at home and in the garden.

These changes can include:

• Reusing water in paddling pools
• Use a scum ball in a home hot tub or spa to prevent the development of scum lines or foaming
• Using a bucket to wash cars, or only washing the windscreen and mirrors on the vehicle
• Keeping a jug of water in the fridge, so there is no need to run the tap until it turns cold.