Hosepipe Ban.co.uk
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Hosepipe bans in the UK

Sunday 13 September11 bans in force

We only use the first part of your postcode. We never store full postcodes.

The national picture

Enter a postcode above for your area, or see where the country stands.

8 suppliers being re-checked. We are not calling these“no restrictions” until we can confirm them, and we are not counting them as clear.

Around 24.1 million people are under a hosepipe ban covering their supplier’s whole area, and 3 more companies have a ban covering only part of theirs.

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Live restriction status

Every UK water company. A ban is set by your supplier, not your council, so neighbours on the same street can have different rules.

Ban in force (11)

  • Central and East regions only
    Source
    Ban in force
    from 11 July 2026
  • Whole supply area except Hartlepool
    Source
    Ban in force
    from 11 July 2026
  • The Bristol Water supply area covering Bristol and the surrounding area.
    Source
    Ban in force
  • The Cambridge Water supply area: Cambridgeshire with parts of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, about 350,000 households.
    Source
    Ban in force
    from 17 July 2026
  • The entire Essex & Suffolk Water supply area, around 2 million customers.
    Source
    Ban in force
    from 3 August 2026
  • The entire South East Water supply area, under two separate legal notices. Kent has been in force since 00:01 on Friday ...
    Source
    Ban in force
    from 3 July 2026
  • The entire South West Water supply area: all of Devon and Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly, and parts of Dorset and Somerse...
    Source
    Ban in force
    from 8 August 2026
  • Hampshire and the Isle of Wight only
    Source
    Ban in force
    from 10 July 2026
  • The whole Thames Water drinking-water supply area, covering London, the Thames Valley and the home counties. Customers T...
    Source
    Ban in force
    from 23 July 2026
  • Parts of west Wales only
    Source
    Ban in force
    from 19 July 2026
  • The entire Wessex Water water-supply area: Bath, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire, with parts of Gloucestershire and Hamps...
    Source
    Ban in force
    from 18 August 2026

No restrictions (4)

  • Northern Ireland.
    Source
    No restrictions
  • The Northumbrian Water supply area across the North East of England.
    Source
    No restrictions
  • The SES Water supply area across east Surrey and parts of south London, Kent and West Sussex.
    Source
    No restrictions
  • The United Utilities supply area across the North West: Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside...
    Source
    No restrictions

Unconfirmed (8)

  • The Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole conurbation and surrounding parts of east Dorset and west Hampshire, covering th...
    Source
    Unconfirmed
  • The Hafren Dyfrdwy supply area in north east and mid Wales.
    Source
    Unconfirmed
  • Hartlepool, covering the TS24 to TS27 postcode districts.
    Source
    Unconfirmed
  • The Portsmouth Water supply area across south east Hampshire and parts of West Sussex.
    Source
    Unconfirmed
  • Scotland.
    Source
    Unconfirmed
  • The Severn Trent supply area across the Midlands.
    Source
    Unconfirmed
  • The South Staffs Water supply area: Staffordshire and parts of the West Midlands.
    Source
    Unconfirmed
  • The Yorkshire Water supply area across the Yorkshire region.
    Source
    Unconfirmed

Common questions

Is there a hosepipe ban in my area right now?

It depends on which company supplies your water, not on where your council is. Enter your postcode above and we will name your supplier and show its current status, with a link to the company's own notice. Where your postcode sits on a boundary between suppliers, we show every candidate rather than guessing.

Who decides a hosepipe ban, and can my council impose one?

Water companies do, under Section 76 of the Water Industry Act 1991. The formal name is a Temporary Use Ban, or TUB. Councils have no statutory power to declare one, and neither does central government.

Can two houses on the same street have different rules?

Yes. UK supply boundaries follow historical infrastructure rather than postcode or council geography, so some streets sit on the boundary between two companies. The supplier named on your water bill decides which rules apply to you, regardless of what applies to your immediate neighbours.

What is the fine for breaching a hosepipe ban?

The maximum is £1,000 per violation under Section 76. In practice companies usually issue a warning first and reserve financial penalties for repeat breaches after that warning.

Can I still water my garden during a ban?

Yes, with a watering can or a bucket. Those are never restricted. Drip irrigation and soaker hoses are exempt under most companies' notices, as is water you have collected in a water butt. What a ban stops is hosepipe and sprinkler use fed from the mains.

Is this official?

No. We are an independent tracker, not a water company or a regulator. Every status here links to the supplier's own notice, and that notice is the version that legally applies to you.

Do you store my postcode?

No. Your browser strips everything after the outward code before anything is sent, so only the first part of your postcode is ever transmitted, and we do not store full postcodes at all.

Statuses last verified against company sources on 13 September 2026.