Thames Water bans hosepipes for millions from Thursday
Key Points
- Thames Water introduces a hosepipe ban for all drinking water customers from 00.01 BST on Thursday 23 July 2026
- Demand runs 10% above normal in the Thames Valley and 7% above normal in London, an extra 100 million litres daily
- The ban covers watering gardens, cleaning cars, filling pools and hot tubs, and using sprinklers
- Buckets, watering cans and essential use remain allowed, with exemptions for health and safety and severe mobility problems
- The region received just 40% of average spring rainfall, with nine UK days at 34°C or above beating 1976 and 2020
Thames Water will ban hosepipe use for all its drinking water customers from 00h01 on Thursday (23 July) 2026 after demand rose 10% above normal in the Thames Valley and 7% in London.
The temporary use ban prohibits customers from using hosepipes for non-essential activities, including watering gardens, cleaning cars and filling paddling pools.
The company supplies drinking water to around 10 million people across London and the Thames Valley and has asked customers to follow the restrictions immediately, ahead of the official start date.
Customers currently use an extra 100 million litres of water every day across the region, which Thames Water says equals adding every home in Manchester to its network. In London, weekly usage runs 475 million litres above normal for this time of year, while Thames Valley demand sits around 186 million litres higher each week.
During peak periods, customers have used water faster than Thames Water can treat and move it through parts of the network. The company said this places additional pressure on local supplies and has triggered the next stage of its drought plan.
What the ban covers
The ban applies to all customers Thames Water supplies with drinking water. It does not apply to waste-only customers or households supplied by another water company, who should check with their own provider.
Thames Water will publish full restrictions and exemptions in a legal notice and on a dedicated webpage on its website.
| Activity | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Watering gardens, lawns or allotments with a hosepipe | Banned | Buckets and watering cans remain allowed |
| Cleaning cars, patios, paths, driveways or windows with a hosepipe | Banned | Hand washing with a bucket remains allowed |
| Filling or topping up paddling pools, swimming pools or hot tubs | Banned | Applies to mains-fed filling |
| Sprinklers or similar equipment connected to mains supply | Banned | Includes irrigation systems |
| Drinking, cooking, washing and hygiene | Allowed | Essential use continues as normal |
| Health and safety uses | Exempt | Includes customers with severe mobility problems |
Nevil Muncaster, Director of Strategic Water Resources at Thames Water, said the company would not take the step unless it was necessary to protect supplies for everyone and the environment.
“Recent heatwaves and a very dry spring and summer have led to sustained high demand. While there is enough water for essential use, we need to reduce non-essential outdoor demand to keep taps flowing,” Muncaster said.
“We will keep the situation under close review and lift restrictions as soon as it is safe to do so.”
Why the ban is happening
The Thames Water region received only 40% of average rainfall this spring and has recorded three official heatwaves.
The UK has already logged nine days where temperatures reached 34°C or above, more than in the previous record years of 1976 and 2020, and no rain has fallen in the Thames catchment so far in July.
Thames Water currently repairs more than 750 leaks every week while running the biggest upgrade to its network in 150 years.
The company has laid more than 100km of new water mains since April 2025, installed more than 1.3 million smart meters to identify leaks at customers’ homes, and fitted more than 70,000 acoustic sensors to monitor flows across the network.
Between 3 and 10 July, Thames Water said that it produced over 20 billion litres of drinking water, more than the whole of the UK usually uses in a day.
