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UK Hosepipe Ban Checker 2026: Current Areas by Water Company

Johgee Irrigation

UK Hosepipe Ban Checker 2026: Current Areas by Water Company

Current UK hosepipe bans: quick answer

As checked on 19 August 2026, Water UK lists Temporary Use Bans for some or all customers of Affinity Water, Anglian Water, Cambridge Water, Essex & Suffolk Water, Southern Water, South East Water, South West Water, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, Thames Water and Wessex Water. Wessex Water's restriction took effect at 00:01 on 18 August. Restrictions are set by the company that supplies drinking water to your tap, not by a single UK-wide postcode list.

Status can change quickly. Use the table as a starting point, then open your supplier's live notice before connecting a hose, sprinkler, dripper or automatic timer.

Drinking-water supplier Area covered by the confirmed restriction Enforceable from Official status
South East Water Kent; Sussex; Surrey; Hampshire; Berkshire Kent: 3 July 2026. Other listed areas: 25 July 2026 South East Water restriction page
Anglian Water Whole Anglian Water supply region 11 July 2026 Anglian Water restrictions
Cambridge Water Cambridge Water supply region 17 July 2026 Cambridge Water restriction page
Affinity Water Central region; use the supplier checker for the exact property 10 July 2026, as listed by Water UK Affinity Water Central-region checker
Thames Water Whole Thames Water drinking-water supply area 23 July 2026 Thames Water legal notice
Essex & Suffolk Water All household customers across its supply area 3 August 2026 Essex & Suffolk Water restriction page
Southern Water Hampshire and Isle of Wight customers 10 July 2026, as listed by Water UK Southern Water restriction page
South West Water Initial area: Mid Devon and parts of East Devon. Water UK reports a later expansion across Devon, Cornwall, parts of Dorset and Somerset, and the Isles of Scilly Initial area: 14 July 2026; wider areas: 8 August 2026 South West Water postcode checker
Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water Mid and south Ceredigion and parts of north Pembrokeshire and north Carmarthenshire 19 July 2026 Dŵr Cymru drought page
Wessex Water All customers, according to Water UK's current summary Effective from 18 August 2026 at 00:01 Wessex Water restriction page

The effective-from date lets the Wessex row remain unambiguous on either side of midnight: before that timestamp the restriction is scheduled; from that timestamp it is in force unless Wessex varies or withdraws it. This table is not a promise that any status will remain unchanged. On the same check, Severn Trent's own current page said it had no hosepipe ban; Water UK's list did not name United Utilities, Northumbrian Water, Yorkshire Water, Bristol Water or Portsmouth Water. That means "not listed in this check", not a permanent clearance. Always open your own supplier's page.

The supplier's current legal notice controls over any summary. The status table must be re-opened and re-dated immediately before publication; the Wessex effective-from statement must also be checked against its live notice.

Check your postcode in three steps

  1. Open Water UK's Find Your Supplier tool and enter the property's postcode.
  2. Confirm the water supplier, not only the wastewater company shown on a bill.
  3. Open that supplier's own restriction or legal-notice page and check the exact address, start date and exceptions.

Two houses in the same county can have different suppliers. A company may also provide wastewater services while another company supplies the drinking water. That is why a county-only map is not enough.

What a Temporary Use Ban normally restricts

A Temporary Use Ban can prohibit mains-water hosepipe use for jobs such as watering a garden, cleaning a private vehicle or patio, and filling a pool. The legal wording and exceptions belong to each supplier's notice.

Do not assume that adding a timer changes the legal position. Thames Water's legal notice explicitly includes devices attached to a hosepipe, while publishing a defined exception for qualifying drip or trickle systems. Other suppliers may use different wording or provide different exceptions. The equipment has to satisfy the exact supplier notice; owning a timer alone is not an exemption.

For a focused explanation, read Can you use a water timer during a hosepipe ban?.

When drip irrigation may be allowed

Thames Water's current exception 14 describes an approved drip or trickle system only when it is:

  • fitted with a timer;
  • fitted with a pressure-reducing valve;
  • fixed rather than handheld;
  • delivering water drip by drip at or below the soil surface;
  • producing no spray, mist, airborne jet or surface runoff.

Those are Thames Water's conditions, not a UK-wide definition. A perforated spray hose, sprinkler or open-ended hose is not converted into qualifying drip irrigation merely by putting it on a timer. Open the exact supplier notice and do not import the Thames checklist into another supply area. Retain a screenshot or copy of the conditions that applied when the system was set up.

Our drip-irrigation hosepipe-ban guide explains the hardware and verification checklist in more detail.

What to water first when restrictions apply

Prioritise plants that can suffer permanent loss before areas that usually recover:

  1. food crops and greenhouse crops;
  2. containers, hanging baskets and grow bags;
  3. recently planted trees, hedges and shrubs;
  4. established beds showing real root-zone dryness;
  5. established lawn last.

Use rainwater or permitted recycled water where appropriate. A watering can also gives better control for a small number of vulnerable plants. Supplier pages can contain separate exceptions for food crops, new planting, medical needs, animal welfare or non-mains water, so check rather than guess.

If you use an automatic timer

Where the supplier permits the setup, treat automation as a control system rather than a permission slip:

  • run one zone at a time unless flow testing supports simultaneous use;
  • measure output into a container before choosing a runtime;
  • check the final emitter, not just the connector nearest the tap;
  • inspect for leaks while the valve is open and again after it closes;
  • pause after useful rainfall;
  • recheck the supplier notice whenever restrictions change.

A multi-zone timer is useful when pots, greenhouse crops and beds need different schedules. See the outdoor tap timer buying guide before selecting one, or review the documented features of the Johgee four-zone RF water timer.

How this checker was produced

The editorial check opened the current supplier pages and, where available, the statutory legal notice. Dates and areas above were transcribed from those primary sources. We did not infer an active ban from a newspaper story, social post or an older restriction page. The page should be reviewed whenever a supplier announces, varies or lifts restrictions.

Primary sources

Update record: status and source pass completed 19 August 2026. Re-open every supplier page before publication and whenever a supplier announces, varies or lifts a restriction.

Field evidence from our garden

Johgee four-zone water timer photographed in our real garden test area
A real garden field photo from our test, showing the controller at working scale rather than a studio render.
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