Wessex Water hosepipe ban exemptions

Published: 17 August 2026Updated: 16 September 2026

Wessex Water status last checked 16 September 2026.

Wessex Water's hosepipe ban is in force. These are the concessions it publishes. Read from Wessex Water’s own exemptions page on 17 August 2026.

Before anything else: a watering can or a bucket is not a hosepipe, so using one is outside this ban altogether. That applies to every Wessex Water customer, needs no exemption and no registration, and it is the answer for most people who arrive on this page. Water you have collected yourself, from a butt or a recycling system, is also outside the ban because it does not come from the mains supply.

What Wessex Water says is exempt

Section 76 of the Water Industry Act 1991 contains no exemptions: it lets a company prohibit the eleven listed uses and sets the penalty, but says nothing about who is excused. Every concession below is Wessex Water’s own, in its wording, so another company’s list is no guide to it.

General

Wessex Water says the ban does not apply if:

you need to use a hosepipe to protect human health and safety
you need the water for animal welfare, including pets, livestock and fish
the water you are using is not from the mains supply, for example from a water butt or other recycled water storage system

Medical

Wessex Water exempts customers with medical or mobility needs who are physically unable to use a watering can or bucket safely. It names:

physical impairments, restricted hand movement and temporary post-hospital recovery situations
requirements for stairlifts, hoists or electric beds
respiratory conditions that require the use of a ventilator, oxygen concentrator or oxygen
other chronic or serious illnesses such as Parkinsons, MS, MND, cancer, stroke, organ failure or severe arthritis

Gardens, lawns, flowers and plants

Wessex Water says the ban does not apply to:

gardens used to protect the health and safety of people and animals
sports pitches and surfaces where watering is necessary to prevent playing surfaces from becoming dangerously hard
turf that has been laid within the last 28 days
trees, hedges and saplings planted within the last three years, where it is not feasible to use a watering can
trees on urban streets where there is no grass
commercial food crops grown for sale
temporary garden or flower displays created for public viewing
food crops grown at home or at a private allotment, where using a watering can is not feasible
large-scale tree planting by a council or a charitable or voluntary organisation
using an irrigation system that drips or trickles, with a time and pressure-reducing valve, that delivers water directly to soil

Private motor vehicles

Wessex Water exempts vehicles used for public services, business purposes or transporting goods, including:

buses and taxis
agricultural vehicles
military vehicles
emergency service vehicles
hearses
recovery vehicles
catering and mobile shops
goods vehicles and any vehicle over 3.5 tonnes
filling a water tank in a caravan or motor home for washing, cooking or sanitation

Private boats

Wessex Water says the ban does not apply if you:

clean the boat as part of a business or professional service
clean the boat for health and safety reasons
use the boat as your primary residence
fill a water tank to be used for washing, cooking or sanitation purposes
clean the boat to make it more fuel efficient
can only clean the engine using a hosepipe
need to clean the boat to prevent or control the spread of non-native or invasive species

Swimming pools, paddling pools and hot tubs

Wessex Water says a pool, paddling pool or hot tub may be filled if:

it is under construction and needs to be filled as part of its construction
you use a bucket or other container to fill it
it is filled using a water recycling system that does not use mains water
it is designed for medical or therapeutic use
it is needed for medical or veterinary treatment or animal welfare
it is used as part of a religious ceremony in a place of worship or community setting

Outdoor surfaces

Wessex Water exempts cleaning outdoor surfaces for health and safety purposes, and names:

patios
paths
driveways
walls
windows
garden furniture
other outdoor surfaces

Animal welfare, including pets, livestock and fish

Wessex Water says a hosepipe may be used for:

filling a pond that serves as an animal's primary source of drinking water
washing an animal when this is necessary for its health, welfare or veterinary treatment
cleaning an animal enclosure, stable, kennel or similar area when cleaning is required to protect animal health
cleaning water bowls, troughs and other drinking containers to maintain animal health and hygiene
topping up ornamental or fish ponds when needed to protect the health and survival of fish or other wildlife living in them

Wessex Water adds: “If you are still unsure whether a certain activity is exempt, please get in touch.”

How to get a medical exemption recorded

Wessex Water works from its Priority Services Register rather than from Blue Badge status, which is how most other companies frame the same concession. Its exemptions page says that if you are not already on the register and have one of the conditions it lists, you can apply to be added.

That difference matters if you have read another company's list. A Blue Badge is not the test here, and being exempt with one supplier tells you nothing about another.

How the Priority Services Register works.

Businesses and working vehicles

The concessions above are broadest where watering or washing is the work rather than incidental to it: commercial food crops, professional boat cleaning, and a long list of working vehicles from taxis and agricultural machinery to hearses and anything over 3.5 tonnes. A business washing its own ornamental frontage is not doing any of those things.

Business and trade rules in full.

New turf and drip irrigation

Turf laid within the last 28 days is exempt, and so are trees, hedges and saplings planted within the last three years where a watering can is not feasible. A drip or trickle irrigation system fitted with a timer and a pressure-reducing valve, delivering water directly to the soil, is also exempt.

Newly laid turf and drip irrigation, in detail.

What is not an exemption

Paying by meter is not an exemption. A metered customer pays for what they use and is under the same restriction as everyone else.

Using a water butt or greywater is not an exemption either, and the distinction is worth keeping straight: that water is outside the ban because it never came from the supply system, not because Wessex Water has excused you. The same is true of a private borehole. What a borehole does not do is exempt the mains water at the same property.

Being outside Bath, Somerset, Dorset or Wiltshire is not the test. Those four counties are where most Wessex Water customers live, not the boundary of the ban: it covers everyone the company supplies with water, including parts of Gloucestershire and Hampshire. In the BS postcode area Wessex Water and Bristol Water both operate, so two neighbours can be under different rules. The test is who supplies your address.

And believing you are exempt is not a defence. The concessions above are Wessex Water's own and it decides how they apply, so if your case is not clearly on their list, ask them before turning the tap rather than after.

Check which company supplies your postcode.

If you get it wrong

Using a hosepipe for a restricted purpose 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 and Wessex Water cannot issue one itself: it would have to prosecute, and in practice enforcement starts with a warning. Fines and enforcement in detail.

Common questions

Do I need to apply for a Wessex Water hosepipe ban exemption?

For the medical concessions, Wessex Water works from its Priority Services Register and says you can apply to be added if you are not already on it and have one of the conditions it lists. The other categories, such as animal welfare or a working vehicle, are framed as situations the ban does not apply to rather than as something you register for.

Is a watering can allowed during the Wessex Water hosepipe ban?

Yes, and it is not an exemption. A watering can or bucket is not a hosepipe, so it falls outside the ban entirely for every customer. The same applies to water from a butt or a recycling system, because that water did not come from the mains supply.

Am I exempt from the Wessex Water ban if I have a Blue Badge?

Wessex Water does not use Blue Badge status as its test. It frames its medical concession around its Priority Services Register and a list of named conditions, which is different from how several other companies word theirs. Check its own list rather than assuming from another supplier's.

Can I water newly laid turf during the Wessex Water hosepipe ban?

Wessex Water exempts turf laid within the last 28 days. It also exempts trees, hedges and saplings planted within the last three years where using a watering can is not feasible, which is a longer window than the turf concession.

Does the ban apply if my water comes from a private borehole?

Water that does not come from the mains supply is outside the ban, so a borehole or a water butt is not restricted. That does not extend to mains water at the same property: the exemption attaches to the water, not to the customer.

I am outside Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire. Am I still covered?

Possibly. Those counties are where most Wessex Water customers live rather than the limit of the ban, which its notice says applies to all customers in its region that it supplies with water. That includes parts of Gloucestershire and Hampshire. Check which company supplies your address.