Drip irrigation and soaker hoses
Most current notices exempt drip or trickle irrigation, but only when the system is fitted with a pressure-reducing valve and a timer. An unregulated soaker hose or any sprinkler stays banned.
The qualifying setup
The concession, where a company offers it, is written around a specific installation: a drip or trickle system, connected through a pressure-reducing valve, run on a timer. That combination caps both flow and duration, which is why companies are willing to exempt it while banning everything else that connects to a tap.
Note that Southern Water’s current wording covers drip irrigation and soaker hoses together, while others name only drip or trickle systems with the two fittings; the table below quotes each company’s own concession so you can match your setup to your supplier’s wording rather than the general rule.
What each company allows
The statutory list is the floor. Each company publishes its own concessions on top, and they differ, so this table is driven by each company’s published exemptions rather than a single national answer.
| Company (ban in force) | Drip / trickle concession |
|---|---|
| Essex & Suffolk Water | Drip or trickle irrigation fitted with a pressure-reducing valve and a timer |
| South East Water | Drip or trickle irrigation fitted with a pressure reducing valve and timer |
| Thames Water | Drip or trickle irrigation fitted with a pressure reducing valve and timer |
| Anglian Water | Drip or trickle irrigation fitted with a pressure reducing valve and timer |
| Southern Water | Drip irrigation and soaker hoses |
| Affinity Water | Drip and trickle irrigation with a pressure reducing valve and timer |
| Cambridge Water | Drip or trickle irrigation fitted with a pressure reducing valve and timer |
| South West Water | Drip or trickle irrigation fitted with a pressure reducing valve and timer |
| Welsh Water | Drip or trickle irrigation fitted with a pressure reducing valve and timer |
| Wessex Water | Not stated in the concessions we have verified. Check Wessex Water’s own notice before relying on an exemption. |
| Bristol Water | Not stated in the concessions we have verified. Check Bristol Water’s own notice before relying on an exemption. |
Common questions
Why is drip irrigation treated differently?
Because it delivers small volumes at the root rather than spraying, a correctly fitted drip system uses a fraction of a hosepipe's flow. Notices typically exempt it only when fitted with a pressure-reducing valve AND a timer, which is what caps the usage.
Is a soaker hose the same as drip irrigation?
Not automatically. A porous soaker hose without a pressure-reducing valve and timer is closer to a running hosepipe, and several notices exempt only systems with both fittings. Match your setup to your company's exact wording before relying on it.
Does a garden sprinkler ever qualify?
No. A sprinkler is the highest-consumption use there is and is squarely within the ban everywhere. The exemption is specifically for low-volume drip or trickle systems.
What fittings make a system compliant?
The two named in the notices: a pressure-reducing valve (limits flow) and a timer (limits duration). Both, together, fitted and working. A system missing either is not within the concession as most companies write it.
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.We are an independent tracker, not a water company or a regulator; your supplier’s own notice is the version that legally applies to you.