Ten Water Companies Still Have Hosepipe Bans in Force, Covering Around 30 Million People. Here Is Who They Are
Around 30 million people in England are under a hosepipe ban, and summer's end has not lifted any of them. Ten companies have bans in force; South East Water and South West Water have moved to the third of four drought levels in parts of their areas; and Veolia Water has stepped up its drought level without a ban.
By Water Pages
Summer is over and none of England’s hosepipe bans has been lifted. The Environment Agency’s weekly drought report for 25 September to 1 October 2026 says the bans in place “have not changed since last week and around 30 million people are still affected”.
A hosepipe ban, formally a temporary use ban, is imposed by a water company under its drought plan. It stops household uses such as watering a garden or washing a car with a hosepipe. Each company publishes its own exemptions.
The ten companies with bans in force
| Water company | Where the ban applies |
|---|---|
| Affinity Water | Central and East regions: Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Surrey, and parts of London and Essex |
| Anglian Water | Whole company area, except Hartlepool |
| Bristol Water | Whole company area |
| Cambridge Water | Whole company area |
| Essex and Suffolk Water | Whole company area |
| Southern Water | Hampshire and the Isle of Wight |
| South East Water | Whole company area |
| South West Water | Whole company area, except Bournemouth |
| Thames Water | Whole company area |
| Wessex Water | Whole company area |
If your water comes from a smaller company
Some new housing estates and business parks are supplied by a smaller company that takes its water from the main company in the area. Ofwat licenses these as “new appointments and variations”. The Environment Agency’s report lists them for the first time this week, and their bans started on the same day as the main company’s.
The eight with bans are Leaf Water, Albion Water, Leep Water, Independent Water Networks, Last Mile Water, MUA, ESP and Matrix. Each applies the ban in the areas where its water comes from one of the ten companies above. A household whose bill comes from one of them and lives in, say, Thames Water’s area is under Thames Water’s ban.
Where the pressure is highest
Water companies report their position on four drought levels, from level 1 to level 4. The report’s company-by-company section shows where it is rising:
- South East Water is at level 3 in its Eastbourne and Haywards Heath zones. From 9 October, its Sussex customers lose every hosepipe exemption except health, safety and welfare, and it has applied for a wider ban on non-essential use.
- South West Water’s Wimbleball zone has moved to level 3, and the Isles of Scilly are at level 2. The company applied on 16 September for a drought permit at Wimbleball, which is 21% full according to Defra on 2 October.
- Southern Water applied on 31 July for a drought order on the River Test and an order banning non-essential use. A public hearing was held on 25 August, and the report says a decision from the Secretary of State is still awaited.
- Thames Water, Wessex Water, Essex and Suffolk Water and Anglian Water’s Fenland and Norfolk, Norwich and Broads zones are at level 2.
- Bristol Water has moved to level 1, and keeps its ban in place to protect flows on the River Severn, where the Environment Agency has applied for a drought order of its own.
Three companies are at a raised drought level with no hosepipe ban: Veolia Water, which moved to level 2 on 28 September; South Staffordshire Water, also at level 2; and Severn Trent Water, at level 2 in North Staffordshire. None of the three has announced a ban.
Six reservoirs are exceptionally low
Reservoir storage across England stood at 55% in the week to 29 September, 19.4% below average for the time of year. Six reservoirs or groups are classed as exceptionally low: Ardingly (South East Water), Chew Valley (Bristol Water), Clatworthy (Wessex Water), the Dove Group (Severn Trent Water), Hanningfield (Essex and Suffolk Water) and Wimbleball (South West Water).
Ten Environment Agency areas remain in drought, all of them in central, southern and eastern England. The Agency has said England needs 120% of its typical rainfall over the coming seven months for every area to leave drought. The National Drought Group next meets on 19 October, with an extra meeting before then.
How to tell whether a ban applies to you
The ban that applies is your water supplier’s, which is not always the company on your sewerage bill. Every company on the list publishes its restrictions, exemptions and enforcement policy on its own website, and the Environment Agency points readers there. A ban stays until the company announces it is lifted.
Read at source on 6 October 2026: the Environment Agency’s “Dry weather and drought in England: 25 September to 1 October 2026” (published 2 October and corrected 5 October 2026) and Defra and the Environment Agency’s press release “England’s reservoirs continue to feel drought strain after sixth dry month of 2026” (2 October 2026). The lists of bans and drought levels are as at 1 October 2026 and change week by week. Water Pages is an independent information service, not a government body or a water company.