South East hosepipe ban under 'constant review'

Anyone flouting the restriction could be fined up to £1,000

A hosepipe and sprinkler ban affecting more than 1.4 million people is under "constant review", South East Water (SEW) has said.

Enforced in July, the move came after the water company said demand for drinking water had reached "record levels" since May due to extended spells of warm and dry weather.

The temporary ban affects households in Kent, East Sussex and West Sussex.

Nick Price, SEW's head of water resources, said: "We are continuing to monitor the situation and will advise customers if circumstances change."

Under the restrictions, people are prevented from using hosepipes for watering their gardens, washing cars, windows and patios, or filling swimming and paddling pools.

Anyone flouting the restriction could be fined up to £1,000.

'Drinking, washing and cooking'

Thanking customers for reducing their water use since July, Mr Price said that while leak repair programmes had been "drastically stepped up", the levels of surface water reservoirs in Sussex were continuing to fall.

"Despite the rain we have experienced recently, Ardingly Reservoir is now at its lowest point in over 12 months at 32.4% full - a level we do not usually see until later in the year," he said.

"We're asking our customers to keep water use around the home to essential purposes only: drinking, washing and cooking."

The UK's summer in 2025 was the warmest on record and its spring was the driest in 50 years, according to the Met Office.

The firm previously said it saw the highest levels of water usage of the year on 30 June, reaching 680-million litres – 105 million litres of water a day more than the average for summer.