Following the driest spring in years, three official heatwaves, record temperatures and sustained high demand, Thames Water is introducing a Temporary Use Ban (TUB), also known as a hosepipe ban, for all customers it supplies with drinking water.
The restrictions will come into effect at 00.01am on Thursday 23 July 2026 and mean customers in the affected areas must not use hosepipes for non-essential activities such as watering gardens, cleaning cars, filling paddling pools or topping up hot tubs. Thames Water is asking customers to follow the usage restrictions now, ahead of the official start date.
Water use has remained exceptionally high during recent periods of record hot weather. Demand is currently around 10% above normal levels across the Thames Valley and Home Counties and 7% above normal in London. This spring, the Thames Water region has received only 40% of average rainfall and has experienced three periods of exceptionally hot weather. The hot weather is forecast to continue, while the UK has already recorded nine days where temperatures reached 34°C or above, more than in the previous record years of 1976 and 2020.
On average, customers are using an additional 100 million litres of water every day across London and the Thames Valley - the equivalent of adding all the homes in Manchester to the company’s network.
During peak periods, water has been used faster than it can be treated and moved through parts of the network, placing additional pressure on local supplies.
The company is now implementing the next stage of its drought plan to help protect customer supplies and the environment.
Nevil Muncaster, Director of Strategic Water Resources at Thames Water, said:
“We would not be taking this step unless it was necessary to protect water 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.
“Many customers have already reduced their water use and that support has made a difference. Thank you to everyone who has already changed their daily habits.
“Our teams are working 24/7 to keep water moving, fix leaks and support customers. We will keep the situation under close review and lift restrictions as soon as it is safe to do so.”
There has been no rainfall so far in July in the Thames catchment combined with exceptionally high water use, which is stretching water resources across the region.
In London, customers are using an average of 475 million litres more water each week than normal for this time of year, while demand in the Thames Valley is around 186 million litres higher each week.
Between 3 and 10 July, Thames Water produced over 20 billion litres of drinking water - more water than the whole of the UK usually uses in a day.
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