Millions of households have faced hosepipe bans due to heatwaves, high water demand, and insufficient rainfall. Major water providers such as Thames Water, Affinity Water, Anglian Water, Cambridge Water, Southern Water, and South West Water have implemented these restrictions. While some companies have not yet announced bans, the rules governing their enforcement are detailed in Section 76 of the Water Industry Act 1991.
The regulations typically prohibit watering gardens with a hosepipe, washing private vehicles with a hosepipe, or filling swimming or paddling pools at home using a hosepipe. However, several exemptions exist and vary by water company.
Exemptions commonly apply to individuals registered as disabled, Blue Badge holders, or those on a water company's Priority Services Register. Watering food crops in allotments or residential gardens is permitted if they cannot reasonably be watered by a watering can. Similarly, providing water to livestock or pets with a hosepipe is allowed.
Watering cans and buckets filled directly from a tap are generally permitted, as is using water from a water butt. The use of irrigation systems remains permissible. Water companies also actively encourage the use of grey water (from baths, showers, and washing up) during these periods. Newly laid turf can be watered with a hosepipe for up to 28 days after installation.
A debated area involves the use of a hosepipe to fill a watering can. According to Thames Water, using a short hosepipe, no longer than 30cm, to fill a watering can is permissible. However, the practice of walking around a garden with a continuously running hosepipe feeding into a watering can is considered a breach of the ban.
Sunil Patel, civil litigation director at Duncan Lewis, stated that using a hosepipe to continuously fill a watering can while tending to a garden is not a loophole but an attempt to circumvent the ban. He clarified that while filling a watering can at a tap and then watering plants is usually allowed, maintaining a running hosepipe into a can as one moves around the garden is likely to be interpreted as using a hosepipe to water the garden.
Individuals found to be violating a hosepipe ban could face enforcement action, including a fine of up to £1,000. However, water companies have historically focused on encouraging compliance rather than imposing penalties, and no water firm has reported imposing a fine to date. Water companies advise against using 999 to report breaches and suggest a polite conversation with the neighbor as a first step, encouraging them to fill watering cans from the tap instead.