What a temporary use ban covers, what it doesn't, and how to keep crops watered

A hosepipe ban is the common name for a Temporary Use Ban, made under the Water Industry Act 1991. It is imposed by your water company, not by the council, and it can cover a whole region or part of one. The rules are similar across companies but not identical, which is why the first thing to do is find your supplier’s own page.

What a ban covers

In a ban area, you cannot use a hosepipe or anything connected to it for:

• watering a garden, allotment or plants
• filling a paddling pool, hot tub or pond
• washing a car, van or boat
• cleaning paths, patios, walls or windows
• filling a fountain or water feature

Sprinklers, pressure washers and misting systems are covered too. The ban is on the use of mains water, not on the water itself.

What you can still use

Watering cans, buckets and containers are allowed. So is water from a water butt, a dip tank or a recycled greywater system, because it is not mains water. Some companies allow a short hose for filling a watering can: Thames Water, for example, allows one up to 30 cm long. Check your company’s wording.

You can also use a drip or trickle irrigation system in many areas, provided it:

• has a timer and a pressure-reducing valve
• is not handheld
• delivers water directly to the soil or roots
• does not spray or mist water into the air

That last condition rules out most sprinklers and spray lines. A soaker hose under a mulch is closer to what companies allow.

The allotment problem

Allotments sit in an awkward place. Some companies treat a private allotment as a garden, so the hosepipe ban applies in full. Others allow a hosepipe for food crops where using a watering can is not reasonably practicable, for example on a large plot or for a gardener with limited mobility. A few allow it only for commercial growers.

The result is that two plots in neighbouring counties can have different rules. Check your supplier’s page, then check whether your site’s water comes from a mains tap, a shared tank or a stream. A site committee can usually tell you which.

Exemptions

Most companies exempt:

• people on the Priority Services Register with a medical or mobility need
• Blue Badge holders, in some areas
• water needed for health and safety or animal welfare
• newly planted trees and turf, for a limited period
• commercial growers and nurseries

Exemptions are not automatic. If you think one applies, apply through the company rather than assuming.

Keep the crops alive with cans

A ban does not mean the plot has to fail. It means carrying water, and using it where it counts.

Water at the base of the plant, in the morning or evening. Soak a bed and then leave it for a week rather than splashing it daily. Mulch every bed to hold the moisture. Prioritise seedlings, transplants, leafy crops and anything flowering or fruiting. Let the rest take its chances. Drought-tolerant vegetables lists the crops that cope.

If the site has a tap, fill every container you own before the ban starts and keep them covered. A wheelie bin with a lid holds more than a watering can and costs less than a butt. Keep it clean and use it for the roots, not the leaves.

Before next summer

Fit a water butt to a shed or greenhouse roof now, and link a second one if you have space. A 200 litre butt fed by a 25 square metre roof fills after about 10 mm of rain. Water butts and ollas has the sums.

Set up a drip line with a timer and a pressure-reducing valve before a ban, not during one. Test it in spring so you know it works.