Affinity Water issued a statutory notice under Section 76B of the Water Industry Act 1991 on 10 July 2026, with enforcement set for 17 July. The ban was then brought forward to Saturday 11 July 2026, citing critical supply pressure that weekend.
It covers the Affinity Water Central region: Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Surrey and parts of north and west London, around 3.9 million people.
The drivers given are demand around 20 per cent above normal alongside low rainfall and sustained high temperatures following the warmest June on record for England. Grafham Water, which typically provides around 10 per cent of the Central region's supply, is delivering below normal volumes.
Two things to watch. Several sources still carry the superseded 17 July date. And Affinity supplies water only in these areas, so a household under this ban may share a postcode district with a Thames Water or Anglian Water customer who is not.