Page last updated: 07/07/2010
From the Environment Agency:
In North West England, drought conditions are causing environmental impacts throughout the Lake District and surrounding area. United Utilities (the water company covering North West) have applied for a drought permit to help maintain the supply of water. In addition we expect the company to take measures to reduce demand for water, including the introduction of a hosepipe ban to help conserve supplies as we don’t know how long the drought will last.
The dry conditions together with the recent hot weather has caused numerous impacts on the environment in Wales as river levels are exceptionally low at the moment. We have rescued fish from several rivers where levels dropped so low fish became trapped. We have increased our monitoring of the environment in Wales.
In South West, North East and central England, there is also a risk to the environment if below average rainfall and hot, dry conditions continue.
For the rest of England, the risk of drought remains low, but this could change if the weather remains dry.
Both United Utilities and the Environment Agency have activated their drought action plans to respond to the current conditions.
United Utilities - More info here: Hosepipe ban announced in the North West
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April 14th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
I would like to know if the hosepipe ban has been lifted in the Datchet, SL3 area ???
Your speedy reply would be appreciated
April 15th, 2007 at 7:46 am
At the time of writing there are no hosepipe bans in place in England, so yes, it’s been lifted in Datchet. Hope this helps.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
I would like to know if the hosepipe ban has been lifted in east london leytonstone thinks..
April 17th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
Nowhere has a ban right now so you’re OK to get the hosepipe out in Leytonstone!
April 27th, 2007 at 8:13 pm
When i was reading on this site it says Hose wrote on jan 16th that Hosepipe Ban has not been lifted; and yet when I checked ‘Which Areas Have Bans’ it says No where has a ban right now, this has confused me a bit can you please clarify. I live in Reading is the Hosepipe ban applicable here?
April 28th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
Hi Olinda, sorry for the confusion. The date of this post (see above) is the 27th of February which was around the time when the last of the bans were removed. The post you saw on the 16th of January is just kept for history really.
So the answer to your question is that there is definitely no hosepipe ban in place at the moment in Reading or any other place in the UK. Hope this clarifies things and happy hosing!
May 24th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
How many times have hosepipe bans been implemented in the last 10 years?
from a keen but still concerned gardener
May 25th, 2007 at 7:49 am
Hi Hamish - depends where you live. Many places in the UK haven’t had a hosepipe ban in the last 10 years. Even some of the worst affected areas have only had 1 ban in the last 10 years.
May 30th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
Does a possible hosepipe ban for industrial dust suppression only apply to mains water?
May 30th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
Hi Angela - mains water as opposed to what other source? Not sure really and this is only a proposal for now I believe. You might like to ask Defra for a definitive answer - http://www.defra.gov.uk - and we’d be interested to hear what they say.
August 5th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
I would like to know if the hose pipe ban
has been lifted in east london, mainly in the ilford
area and if not can anyone recieve permission
to use hose pipes, as my group of friends and i
are organising a chairty car wash.
August 6th, 2007 at 11:21 am
Hi sonal. You’re totally fine using your hosepipes in Ilford. There are no hosepipe bans anywhere right now. Good luck with the car wash!
October 22nd, 2007 at 11:54 am
One of the major car magazines carried out a controlled test a little while ago and proved conclusively that using a hosepipe with a trigger control head is much more economical of water use than doing the equivalent wash and rinse using buckets. Isn’t it about time that the water companies commissioned a proper, independant test to establish a true comparison of the two methods. It’s easy for them to assume the worst case where people use a hosepipe with a continuous water flow, but I suspect that, these days, the majority use a much more economical trigger-controlled hose head-unit for car washing.
April 7th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
I heard there is going to be a hosepipe ban on allotments this year, can you tell me if this is correct and if so, when it will come into force. There are many concerned tenants on our allotments in Cheshire who would like to know!
April 9th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Hi Helen.
Each water company has their own rules about allotments so the best thing to do would be to contact your local water company directly and ask them. But as far as I know this would only be considered if there is a general hosepipe ban in your area first. Cheshire missed out last time we had hosepipe bans and shouldn’t be under threat this year.
July 27th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
May I use a hosepipe to water my garden. I live in BN25 1NR.
July 27th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Yes, you can use a hosepipe in BN25.
July 28th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Page last updates in Feb 2007 - is this information reliable for Jul/Aug 2008!? Please could you post a current update?
July 28th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Good point Bea! There’s actually been nothing to update in that time though, as there are still no hosepipe bans in place.
July 31st, 2008 at 9:11 am
I was just wondering if there is a hosepipe ban in west london?
July 31st, 2008 at 2:17 pm
No, there’s no hosepipe ban in West London.
August 14th, 2008 at 10:40 am
Am I o.k to use a hosepipe to water my garden. I live in the Birmingham B11 area?
August 14th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Yes, you’re fine to use a hosepipe in Birmingham.
April 26th, 2009 at 9:38 am
Hi, is there any hosepipe ban in place at the moment?
Thanks.
April 26th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Hi Enrico. There are no hosepipe bans in place at the moment (April 2009).
June 2nd, 2009 at 6:41 pm
Hello,
Just wanted to know if there are any hosepipe bans on at the moment?
Many thanks
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Hi Amy
No, there are no hosepipe bans in the Uk right now.
June 25th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Please can somebody tell me, am i safe to water my garden wlth a hose pipe tonight? thanks.
June 25th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Yes, you’re perfectly alright watering at the moment.
July 1st, 2009 at 2:15 pm
I have just noticed my neighbour has left her hosepipe on watering the front garden and gone off to work - is this legal?
July 1st, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Hi Michelle
Yes it’s legal and there’s also no hosepipe ban in place at the moment. Whether or not it’s ethically sound is another question!
June 21st, 2010 at 9:13 pm
HOSE PIPE BAN ON FRIDAY 25TH JUNE 2010
WILL TAKE PLACE IN GREATER MANCHESTER (RAINY CITY)
IT WAS ON THE LOCAL NEWS.
WE HAVE NOT HAD RAIN IN MONTHS HERE.
June 24th, 2010 at 5:22 pm
Hi,
I have 2 upcoming horse shows so will need to bath my horse in the next two weeks, one on the 27th june and another on the 4th july, will I be able to do this? I live in Lancashire?
Thankyou
June 24th, 2010 at 8:52 pm
You’ll be fine Lauren, no hosepipe bans yet. I’d have guessed there would be special provision for washing animals anyway, even if there were restrictions.
June 25th, 2010 at 11:04 am
how do you transport water from one place to another ?
thank you if you answer
June 25th, 2010 at 4:16 pm
For what purpose Annie?
June 26th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
is there a ban on hosepipes in blackpool cleveleys?
June 26th, 2010 at 10:36 pm
No bans anywhere yet Lori, but they could be coming soon.
June 27th, 2010 at 9:45 am
DO people actually get prosecuted for breaching a hosepipe ban ?
I heard on another site that NO_ONE had ever been successfully presecuted.
June 27th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
I know the purpose of this space is to determine whether or not we are affected by a ban- but I just have to ask this: In desert areas like Arizona, there is enough water for people to irrigate and water even though the annual rainfall is a fraction of what it is here. On this tiny island where it rains SO much, it seems as soon as we have a few dry days we are in a drought! If water companies invested some of their ample profit into updating their reservoirs and repairing the leaking Victorian infrastructure, we wouldn’t be faced with these bans in the first place. Frankly, I don’t know why consumers put up with it. Responsible water use is EVERYONE’s responsibility- including the water companies. As a consumer, I’m sure I only have a portion of the picture. Am I missing something here?
July 7th, 2010 at 8:18 am
Hi there
I have a Mobile car valeting business in the Manchester area. I belive as of Friday 9th July the North West will have a hosepipe ban. Do i have to apply for any special licence or anything to be able to continue working. or will i just be left alone because it’s my livelyhood?
July 7th, 2010 at 8:55 am
untited utilities is my water supplier,they serve the north west region.in the early 1960 plans were drawn up and passed to flood the long preston area (near Settle) because of the increasing population, this was later withdrawn reason, ‘we can cope’.45 years on the only thing that has happened is lots of top up reservoir’s have been filled in and built on,the population has gone up at least 10% if they thought about doing this 45 years ago surely to goodness we must need extra water holding area’s now
July 7th, 2010 at 11:28 am
I live in Winsford Cheshire (CW7) and I have heard that the Northwest is having a hosepipe ban starting at the end of this week, will this include Cheshire?
July 7th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
I read above, that they say the West Country is at risk, the last I heard from the Met Office, the reservoirs in the West are over 80% full, so why that notice? Since I moved to the West, we have never had a hose pipe ban, even in the drought of the 70s, so what are they talking about?
July 7th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Hi, I have tried to find out what i canin relation to this ban. I am involved in the running of a large fleet of trucks. Am i correct in coming to the conclusion that we can still wash our trucks? At this time of year it is very much a safety thing - you can’t see out of dirty windows.
Help much appreciated
Scott
July 8th, 2010 at 9:24 am
Does the ban effect SK17 8BT Dove Holes Nr Buxton
July 8th, 2010 at 11:08 am
will this ban affect the use of hoses to fill up the water container in my horses field?
Will it also mean that I am unable to bath my horse on Saturday for a show on Sunday?
July 9th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Hi
We live in the high Peak, sk23 7ad,
Are we in the ban area ?
Regards
Paul…
July 9th, 2010 at 2:29 pm
The current hosepipe ban does not prevent you from using a hose to wash or water animals (or to clean things such as patio, path, etc or even for filling swimming pools, water butts or watering cans). It *only* restricts the use of a mains-fed hosepipe for watering private gardens and washing private cars. NO commercial hosepipe uses are currently prohibited. For further details:
http://twitter.com/unitedutilities
http://www.unitedutilities.com/Hosepipeban.htm
http://www.unitedutilities.com/BanCommercial.htm
http://www.hozelock.com/UK-Water-Restrictions/hose-restrictions-2.html
July 9th, 2010 at 6:12 pm
Hi I have a mobile valeting business in burnley lancashire. im i band from filling up my tank. i did hear that it only applies to people washing there own private cars
thnk you
July 10th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
Me and my dad are planning to put the swimming pool up this summer so i have three questions:
1. When does the ban begin?
2. Does it apply to swimming pool fillings
3. Does the ban apply to Talke in Stoke-On-Trent?
A reply would be apreciated and today would be brilliant.
Thankyou
July 10th, 2010 at 11:58 pm
Hi, is there a hosepipe ban in Scholar Green, Cheshire?
Many thanks
July 11th, 2010 at 5:38 pm
hi does it apply to upton nr gainsborough
thx
July 11th, 2010 at 8:42 pm
is there a hosepipe ban in buxton , derbyshire ?
July 12th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
can I use a power washer to clean the o/s of my house
July 12th, 2010 at 8:27 pm
It’s a joke!!!
When a reservoir is at full capacity it is enough to last 5 years!!
Over the winter we had floods up and down the country so every reservoir was full. We do not live in a third world country and for 9 months of the year we get rain more often than not!!!
This is a scam implemented by United Utilities to raise the price of a commodity that FALLS FROM THE SKY!!!!!
They charge us for something that nature provides for free!!!
You mark my words that AIR will be next, they will find a way to charge us for air… It’s ridiculous and i ain’t conforming
July 13th, 2010 at 9:06 pm
hosepipe ban is in action now in bolton
July 23rd, 2010 at 1:32 pm
i wondered if you can advise how i can water 2 vegetable plots with watering cans more easily? i grow all my own vegetables, and have 3 greenhouses full of tomates, peppers etc for self sufficiency, the environment and to give to friends. why cant we conserve water more easily as we are 70% water on this planet! also i pay hefty water rates, and feel we need to manage our water more efficiently
July 24th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
why hasnt hose replied to any comments since june 26th, a whole month!
July 26th, 2010 at 9:04 am
is there a ban in rh16 ???
July 26th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
Is the hose pipe ban still in operation, after nearly 2 weeks of constant rain???
July 29th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Hi - I pity those of you affected by this who have just paid for new turf lawns!!! I suppose giving one inch of water every day or so to the strips will keep you fit if you have to use a watering can - enjoy
I have just sorted my lawn before any word of a ban. Now it just looks after itself.
July 30th, 2010 at 10:53 am
Can anyone confirm if this ban is still in place in the northwest?
3 weeks of rain now should have rectified things?
July 30th, 2010 at 7:46 pm
is there a water pipe ban in morecambe please let me know thanks.