Hosepipe Ban.co.uk

Affinity Water Hosepipe Ban Status 2026

Published: Updated:

We cannot confirm Affinity Water's current position from its own published notice, so this page asserts nothing about it. That is deliberate: a wrong all-clear here would send someone out with a hosepipe under a restriction carrying a fine of up to 1,000 pounds, and a wrong restriction would cost them a brown lawn for no reason. Check Affinity Water's own notice, linked below, before using a hosepipe. Everything else on this page, the supply area, the exclusions, the penalties and the history, is stable information that does not depend on today's status.

What this site last recorded, on 30 July 2026, and which is what we can no longer stand behind today: Start date corrected during verification. The statutory notice under Section 76B of the Water Industry Act 1991 was issued on 10 July 2026 with enforcement set for 17 July, then brought forward to Saturday 11 July citing critical supply pressure that weekend. Several secondary sources still carry the superseded 17 July date.

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We could not confirm Affinity Water’s current status from their own page, so we are not asserting a restriction. Check with your supplier before using a hosepipe.

Check with your supplier
Areas covered: The Affinity Water Central region: Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Surrey and parts of north and west London.
Affinity WaterStatus checked yesterday by hand

We are an unofficial tracker, so Affinity Water’s own notice is the version that legally applies to you.

Where Affinity Water supplies, and where it does not

Affinity Water's restriction covers its Central region, the largest of its three: Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Surrey and parts of north and west London. Its Southeast and East regions are outside.

Affinity is water-only, and its area interleaves with Thames Water's and Anglian Water's at street level, so a household under this notice can share a street with a neighbour who is not. The AL, LU, WD, HP, SL, HA, UB, EN and SG districts are its core, and none belongs to it in full.

Covered

  • Central region core (AL, LU, WD, HP, SL, HA, UB, EN, SG)

NOT covered

  • Affinity Southeast region (CT)

Source: Affinity Water

The sections on why a restriction was declared, and on what it restricts, are not shown here: with the status unconfirmed there is nothing verified to describe, and inventing it would be worse than leaving it out. Affinity Water's own notice is the authoritative statement of its current position.

Fines and enforcement

If a Temporary Use Ban were in force here, breaching it would be a criminal offence. The maximum penalty is a fine of £1,000 on summary conviction, under section 76(5) of the Water Industry Act 1991. It is not a fixed penalty: Affinity Water cannot issue one and would have to prosecute. In practice companies publish an enforcement policy that starts with a warning, so a first breach realistically produces a letter.

Affinity Water publishes a Temporary Usage Bans enforcement policy and a misuse reporting form. Blue Badge and Priority Services Register customers are automatically exempt under Annex 2 of the statutory notice.

More: fines and enforcement in detail.

Source: Affinity Water

Previous restrictions in this area

The useful document here is the drought management plan Affinity publishes annually, because that is where the sequence is written down: what it does before a hosepipe restriction and what it applies for afterwards. A restriction on domestic hosepipe use is an early step in that sequence, not a last resort.

Recorded here this season for Affinity Water: a restriction beginning 11 July 2026, running 21 days so far. Events are permanent. When one ends we set its end date and keep it, so this page can still say what ran and for how long.

Source: Affinity Water

Frequently asked questions

Is there a hosepipe ban in the Affinity Water area right now?

We could not confirm Affinity Water's current status from its own notice, so this site asserts nothing either way. Check Affinity Water's own notice before using a hosepipe.

Why does this page not say whether Affinity Water has a hosepipe ban?

Because we could not confirm it against Affinity Water's own published notice, and this site does not assert a status it cannot stand behind. A wrong all-clear costs a reader up to 1,000 pounds; a wrong ban costs them a brown lawn. Neither is acceptable, so it says so instead.

Can I water my garden and wash my car in the Affinity Water area?

We cannot confirm Affinity Water's current position, so this page will not tell you either way. A watering can or bucket is safe whatever the status, because a Temporary Use Ban never restricts them. For a hosepipe, check Affinity Water's own notice first.

What is the fine for breaking a Affinity Water hosepipe ban?

Up to 1,000 pounds, imposed by a magistrates' court on conviction under section 76 of the Water Industry Act 1991. It is not a fixed penalty: Affinity Water would have to prosecute, and starts with a warning.

Am I exempt if I am on the Priority Services Register?

Usually, but not automatically everywhere. Most companies exempt Priority Services Register customers and Blue Badge holders who cannot reasonably use a can or bucket, some automatically and some on registration. Affinity Water's own notice sets the wording.

How do I know if Affinity Water supplies my address?

Your water bill, on the water supply line rather than the sewerage line: in much of England and Wales those are two different companies. Affinity Water supplies the affinity water central region: bedfordshire, berkshire, buckinghamshire, essex, hertfordshire, surrey and parts of north and west london.

Does Affinity Water supply its whole region?

Affinity Water's coverage is not uniform, and the last restriction we recorded for it covered only part of its area: Affinity Water Central region only. Whether anything applies today is unconfirmed here, so check your postcode and Affinity Water's own notice.

Why do I see two different start dates for the Affinity Water restriction?

Both were announced. The statutory notice of 10 July 2026 set enforcement for 17 July, then Affinity brought it forward to 11 July.

Counties and areas Affinity Water serves

The Central region covers Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire most fully, then parts of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Surrey, Essex and north and west London, following the chalk rather than county lines.

13 outward postcode districts resolve to Affinity Water here, as primary supplier or as one candidate among several. An outward code is the part before the space: SO14, not SO14 3AB.

Town pages here: Slough, Luton, Watford. Each resolves from its own outcode rather than this company's headline status, which matters most where a town sits outside a restriction its supplier has declared.

Postcode districts

Source: Affinity Water

Source of record: Affinity Water’s own status page, last checked 30 July 2026. We do not publish a hosepipe ban on the strength of a news report; every status rests on a primary source.