With summer scorching and reservoir levels falling, several water companies have brought in hosepipe bans, officially known as Temporary Use Bans. The exact rules vary from supplier to supplier, but the principle is the same everywhere: in the driest weeks, mains water should be kept for essential use. Here is what is off-limits in the garden and around the pool under a hosepipe ban, with fines of up to £1,000 for anyone who breaks the rules.
What a hosepipe ban usually covers
The restrictions cover mains water used through a hosepipe, rather than by hand. In most cases you cannot water the garden or lawn with a hosepipe, wash the car with one, fill or top up a private pool or paddling pool, run an ornamental fountain, or clean paths, patios and windows with a hose. Watering by hand with a watering can or bucket is almost always still allowed, and it is the practical way to keep pots and vegetables alive during a ban. It uses a fraction of the water a running hose gets through, which is exactly why it is exempt.
The penalties have real teeth: breaching a Temporary Use Ban is a criminal offence, and offenders can be fined up to £1,000. Each water company declares a ban for its own supply area and keeps it in force until the drought eases, so two neighbours served by different suppliers can face different rules. There are usually narrow exemptions, for example for Blue Badge holders or newly laid turf, but these vary from company to company. Because the details differ so much, it is always worth checking your own supplier's rules before turning on a tap outdoors.
Why it affects your energy bill too
There is a less obvious side to all this: a pool does not just use water. The filtration pump on an above-ground pool runs for hours a day and is one of the most power-hungry appliances in the house over summer, capable of adding as much to your electricity bill as a large household appliance. Holding off on filling or topping up the pool while a ban is in force trims two bills at once: the water bill and the electricity bill. To see which appliances cost the most to run, our guide on how to save electricity is a good place to start.
The habits that help
Rules aside, a few habits make getting through the summer easier and cheaper. Collecting rainwater for the garden, covering the pool to cut overnight evaporation, watering at dusk so less is lost to the sun, and fixing small leaks such as a dripping outdoor tap are all simple steps that keep your usage down. In a drought summer, being careful with water and careful with electricity is really one habit: going easy on two resources that are under strain at the same time. Our page on heatwaves rounds up advice on coping when the mercury climbs, at home and outdoors.