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South East Water Hosepipe Ban Status 2026

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We cannot confirm South East 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 South East 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: 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.

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We could not confirm South East 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 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 WaterStatus checked yesterday

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

Where South East Water supplies, and where it does not

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.

Source: South East 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. South East 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: 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.

More: fines and enforcement in detail, the statutory notice (PDF).

Source: South East Water

Previous restrictions in this area

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 29 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: South East Water

Frequently asked questions

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

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

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

Because we could not confirm it against South East 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 South East Water area?

We cannot confirm South East 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 South East Water's own notice first.

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.

Postcode districts

Source: South East Water

Source of record: South East 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.