South East Water is introducing temporary restrictions on the use of hosepipes introduced across South East Water's supply areas in Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire; customers in the company’s Kent supply area are already subject to temporary hosepipe restrictions.
The temporary restrictions will be in force from 00.01 on Saturday 25 July. However the company is asking customers in Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire to respect the restrictions immediately.
The Temporary Use Ban (TUB) In Kent imposing hosepipe restrictions came into force on Friday 3 July 2026.
Customers in Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire, last faced temporary restrictions in 2012. For customers in Sussex, this latest restriction is the fourth hosepiepe ban in five years
The restrictions follow lower than average rainfall since March and continued hot weather and high demand, which has led to low river levels and the need to protect some groundwater sources.
South East Water is moving to restrict the use of hosepipes and sprinklers with immediate effect to help ensure that the company can provide a consistent public water service for all its customers.
The water company’s untreated raw water resources were in a healthy position moving through spring and into early summer following the higher than average winter rainfall.
However, since March, just over half the expected rainfall has been recorded across all the drinking water company’s supply areas. This has meant those levels are falling and have now breached the triggers in the company’s approved Drought Plan
During the heatwaves and continued hot weather South East Water says it has had every available water treatment works and source producing treated water at full capacity, moved water around the network to where it is needed most and ensured that drinking water storage tanks were filled as much as possible.
The drinking water company has also increased the number of teams fixing bursts and leaks, has replaced leak and burst-prone pipes to save water and is working with farmers and landowners to improve water quality and quantity of rivers and groundwater sources. New water sources will be developed in Sussex in the longer term, with different options currently being explored.
Douglas Whitfield, Water Supply Director, South East Water, said:
"Our teams have worked incredibly hard to prepare for this summer, but the sheer scale of the sustained heatwaves and lower levels of rainfall mean water resources are starting to be impacted. Our absolute priority has to be making sure there is always enough water for everyone’s essential daily needs: drinking, cooking and hygiene.
“We recognise how challenging these repeated restrictions are for our Sussex customers, by this being the fourth ban in five years. Our priority is to restore long-term resilience to break this cycle. We’re actively developing new water sources to build a more resilient supply for your community and to secure our water future."
UK water companies are invited to join an upcoming webinar which will explore how the sector can take indirect potable reuse (IPR) from concept to full-scale operational reality.
James Sumsion, CEO of predictive water intelligence specialists Kohtari, says the water sector needs to take a giant leap forward, so that it can anticipate and act upon water quality issues - rather than merely react.
Ray Moulds, Sales Director at Flood Control International, takes a look at how automated sliding floodgates are supporting secondary containment at water and sewerage company sites.
With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, then environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.”
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.