South East Water has a Temporary Use Ban, the legal name for a hosepipe ban, in force since 3 July 2026, with no end date announced, so it runs until further notice. The entire South East Water supply area, under two separate legal notices. Kent has been in force since 00:01 on Friday 3 July 2026. Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire come into force at 00:01 on Saturday 25 July 2026. South East Water supplies 2.3 million people in total. A watering can, a bucket and water you have collected yourself are never restricted by a Temporary Use Ban.
Two notices run concurrently with different start dates, so the answer for a customer depends on which county they are in. The Kent notice covers about 850,000 customers. South East Water has published no population figure for the extension.
You cannot use a hosepipe or sprinkler at home. A watering can or bucket is still fine, and the maximum fine is £1,000.
Kent
from 3 July 2026
Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire
from 25 July 2026
Areas covered: The entire South East Water supply area, under two separate legal notices. Kent has been in force since 00:01 on Friday 3 July 2026. Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire come into force at 00:01 on Saturday 25 July 2026.
We are an unofficial tracker, so South East Water’s own notice is the version that legally applies to you.
Coverage: what is in, and what is out
South East Water supplies 2.3 million people across Kent, East and West Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire, and covers all of it under two separate legal notices with start dates three weeks apart.
The trap is that South East Water is a water-only supplier through most of this area: sewerage in Kent and Sussex is Southern Water's, and Southern Water sets its own restrictions on its own timetable. Your sewerage bill tells you nothing about whether this notice applies.
South East Water gave a different reason for each region rather than one company-wide account, which is why its two notices are dated three weeks apart and why the regional detail below is worth reading in full. Across the whole area it cited lower rainfall, continued hot weather and high demand pulling river levels down, and the need to protect groundwater.
Kent: Near-record demand on the Kent distribution network during the June heatwave. Kent and Sussex have had restrictions in three of the last five years.
Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire: For Sussex, abstraction from the River Cuckmere has been paused and Arlington Reservoir has reached its Drought Plan trigger after 55 per cent of average rainfall since March. For Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire these are the first restrictions since 2012.
A Temporary Use Ban does not prohibit hosepipes in general. It prohibits the eleven uses at s.76(2) of the Water Industry Act 1991, starting with watering a garden, cleaning a private motor vehicle, watering plants on domestic or other non-commercial premises, cleaning a private leisure boat and running through pools, ponds, fountains, walls, windows, paths and patios. Anything outside those eleven is untouched.
A watering can, a bucket and water you have collected yourself are never restricted by a Temporary Use Ban. Neither is water that never came through the mains: a hosepipe fed from a butt, a borehole or grey water sits outside the notice, because it attaches to the water rather than to the hosepipe.
Each company then publishes its own concessions, and they differ enough that one list is no guide to another. These 6 are South East Water's:
Watering with a watering can or bucket
Drip or trickle irrigation fitted with a pressure reducing valve and timer
Water from a water butt or other non-mains source
Blue Badge holders and Priority Services Register customers
Newly laid turf, for a limited period after laying
Commercial use where the hosepipe is directly needed for the business
Breaching a Temporary Use Ban is a criminal offence, not a civil matter. The maximum is level 3 on the standard scale, currently £1,000, under section 76(5) of the Water Industry Act 1991. It is not a fixed penalty: South East 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.
South East Water publishes an enforcement policy alongside each legal notice and runs a report water misuse form. It operates two exemption routes: category 1 for Priority Services Register customers who cannot make reasonable adjustments, and category 2 for already-exempt activities.
The two halves of this supply area have opposite recent records, which the company drew attention to itself. Kent and Sussex have had restrictions in three of the last five years. Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire had not been restricted in 14 years, since 2012.
Recorded here this season for South East Water: a restriction beginning 3 July 2026, running 75 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.
Is there a hosepipe ban in the South East Water area right now?
Yes. South East Water has a Temporary Use Ban in force, in effect since 3 July 2026. The entire South East Water supply area, under two separate legal notices.
When does the South East Water hosepipe ban end?
No end date is announced: it runs until further notice. Companies lift restrictions after sustained rain, not on a fixed date.
Can I water my garden or wash my car during the South East Water ban?
Not with a hosepipe, sprinkler or pressure washer fed from the mains. A can or bucket is fine, as is a hosepipe fed from a butt or borehole. Commercial car washes are unrestricted.
What is the fine for breaking a South East 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: South East 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. South East Water's own notice sets the wording.
How do I know if South East 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. South East Water supplies the entire south east water supply area, under two separate legal notices.
Why did the Kent restrictions start three weeks before the rest?
They are two separate legal notices. Kent came in from 00:01 on 3 July 2026, and Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire followed from 00:01 on 25 July 2026.
Can I water a lawn I laid last month?
Only under conditions. South East Water allows watering of new domestic lawns for four weeks after laying, if the turf was laid before the restriction began, and only outside 8am to 10am and 5pm to 9pm.
Counties and areas South East Water serves
The supply area runs from the Kent coast through Sussex and Surrey into Hampshire and Berkshire, and it interleaves with Southern Water, SES Water, Thames Water and Portsmouth Water rather than bordering them cleanly.
8 outward postcode districts resolve to South East 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: Canterbury, Maidstone, Crawley. 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.
Water hardness in the South East Water supply area
South East Water does not publish drinking water quality data on the water industry's open data platform, so there is no hardness figure to read. We have asked them for it in writing. In the meantime their own customer pages are the place to check.
Source of record: South East Water’s own status page, last checked 16 September 2026. We do not publish a hosepipe ban on the strength of a news report; every status rests on a primary source.