South East Water Imposes Hosepipe Ban Affecting 2.4 Million Across Four Counties

South East Water has announced a hosepipe ban, effective from 6pm on 26 June, impacting approximately 2.4 million customers across Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire, and Berkshire. The utility attributes the measure to a dramatic increase in water consumption coupled with prolonged dry conditions.

Customers have been prohibited from using hosepipes for garden watering, filling swimming pools, washing cars, and cleaning patios. However, exceptions apply for blue badge holders and those using water for essential health and safety reasons, or for commercial purposes such as growing plants for sale.

David Hinton, CEO of South East Water, stated that the company had seen demand rise to levels typically experienced in a summer heatwave, representing a 20% increase on average. He highlighted that despite pumping an additional 120 million litres of water daily, equivalent to supplying four towns the size of Oxford, the surge in usage, particularly through hosepipes and sprinklers, has depleted reserves. Hinton emphasised that the restrictions are a direct consequence of consumers' increased demand rather than a failure of the water supply infrastructure.