Hosepipe ban continues into autumn despite rainfall

The ban has been in place since July

A hosepipe ban affecting 1.1m people will continue despite recent rainfall, Thames Water has said.

The measure came into force across Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire in July after a lack of rain and increasing demand stretched supplies.

Despite recent wet weather, Thames Water said the ban would continue into Autumn as "water resources will take time to recover".

The Met Office recently classified the Summer of 2025 as the hottest on record, with the UK only receiving half of its average rainfall in the last six months.

Nevil Muncaster, strategic water resources director at Thames Water, said: "This summer has been the hottest on record and in our region alone, we've had less than half the rainfall we would expect over the last few months, meaning rivers and groundwater levels in the west of our region are still under significant pressure."

"We've welcomed the rain over the past few weeks, which has helped the rivers we use to top up our reservoirs, however most of this rainfall has been soaked up by the excessively dry ground and hasn't had a notable impact to the groundwater levels, which feed the River Thames," he added.

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Thames Water said it continued to "do everything we can to keep all our customers supplied with top quality drinking water".

This included fixing leaks, using smart technology to manage water pressures, and closely monitoring demand across the network, the company added.

The hosepipe ban outlaws the use of a hosepipe for things like watering the garden, washing the car or filling a paddling pool.

Anyone living in areas with postcodes beginning OX, GL, SN, RG4, RG8 and RG9 using a hosepipe can be fined up to £1,000.

It does not affect businesses where hosepipe use is part of their purpose, for example garden centres and car washes.