BN is specifically excluded from Southern Water's restriction.
Your area is specifically excluded from Southern Water's ban, so no hosepipe restriction applies to you.
Across the whole of Southern Water, the status is ban in force. Your area is the answer above.
Areas covered: The Hampshire and Isle of Wight supply area ONLY, about 1 million customers. Southern Water's Sussex and Kent customers are not covered.
SWSouthern Water·Status checked just now·page dated 10 July 2026
We are an unofficial tracker, so Southern Water’s own notice is the version that legally applies to you.
Why Brighton is outside Southern Water’s restriction
Southern Water does have a restriction in force this season, which is why it appears in the news. Its scope is Hampshire and the Isle of Wight only. A Temporary Use Ban applies to the area named in the notice, not to everywhere the company supplies.
Southern Water's Sussex and Kent customers are NOT covered. Sussex customers are asked to use water carefully but face no legal restriction and no fine.
What a hosepipe ban prohibits, and the fine
Temporary Use Bans are made under section 76 of the Water Industry Act 1991, which lists the eleven prohibited uses at s.76(2). The Water Use (Temporary Bans) Order 2010 (SI 2010/2231) defines them. A company cannot add to that list, so the eleven uses below are the same in Brighton as anywhere else in England and Wales.
- Watering a garden using a hosepipe
- Cleaning a private motor vehicle using a hosepipe
- Watering plants on domestic or other non-commercial premises using a hosepipe
- Cleaning a private leisure boat using a hosepipe
- Filling or maintaining a domestic swimming or paddling pool
- Drawing water, using a hosepipe, for domestic recreational use
- Filling or maintaining a domestic pond using a hosepipe
- Filling or maintaining an ornamental fountain
- Cleaning walls, or windows, of domestic premises using a hosepipe
- Cleaning paths or patios using a hosepipe
- Cleaning other artificial outdoor surfaces using a hosepipe
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 the company issues itself, and enforcement in practice begins with a warning.
What this means at your address
A hosepipe ban is set by your water company, not your council, and most bans cover only part of a company’s area. Brighton is billed by Southern Water, so its rules are the ones that apply here, but the boundary can run through a town: your postcode is the only certain answer.
Whatever the status, a watering can, a bucket and collected rainwater are never restricted. See what you can still do and how the fine works.
Common questions
Is there a hosepipe ban in Brighton?
No. Brighton is supplied by Southern Water, and no hosepipe ban applies here right now.
Which water company supplies Brighton?
Brighton is supplied by Southern Water. Your water bill confirms your supplier, and a ban is set per company, not per town, so the boundary can run through a town.
What is the fine for breaking a hosepipe ban?
Up to 1,000 pounds, imposed by a magistrates' court on conviction, not a fixed penalty set by the water company. In practice enforcement starts with a warning.