Thames Water hosepipe ban to run through autumn after severe drought declared in southern England

Hosepipe ban runs through autumn

Thames Water's hosepipe ban, first introduced on 23 July, will stay in place throughout autumn and covers more than 10 million customers. The firm said its reservoirs remain far below normal October levels. September rainfall across its region was half the long-term average, and by 6 October only 1% of average monthly rainfall had fallen in October, leaving the ground at its driest since 2001. On 6 October Farmoor Reservoir near Oxford stood at 68% storage and London's reservoirs at 54%.

Andrew Tucker, the firm's demand reduction manager, urged customers to make small changes such as shorter showers.

We need everyone to keep saving water where they can, at home, at work and in the garden.

Hosepipes and pressure washers may not be used for watering gardens, cleaning cars, filling paddling or swimming pools, or cleaning windows. Exemptions cover agriculture, livestock, animal welfare and customers Thames Water deems vulnerable.

Severe drought declared across southern England

On Thursday, 15 October, the Environment Agency declared severe drought in parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex. The escalation follows the drought the agency declared across more than half of England at the end of July. Officials said the South East and South West have had their driest April to September for more than a century. Wimbleball Reservoir, which serves about 300,000 properties across Devon, Somerset and Dorset, stood at 14.9% capacity in South West Water's latest data. Stithians in Cornwall was at 21.9%, while the Environment Agency said it normally expects storage of about 75% at this time of year.

Government and water companies respond

Water minister Emma Hardy defended the government's drought planning in an emergency statement to the Commons on Friday, 16 October, as MPs raised concerns about farmers.

While the record-breaking heat and lack of rainfall have put our water resources under immense pressure this year, we must take action now to prevent this situation becoming the norm.

Water companies must monitor reservoir and river levels daily and tighten water quality checks, while the Environment Agency will step up compliance checks on businesses that take water. The agency has been told to prioritise public supplies where that means trade-offs with environmental rules. Shadow environment minister Robbie Moore said the drought should not have caught the government off guard, calling it the third in five years. Devon County Council leader Julian Brazil blamed South West Water's neglect for the situation and said the drought had been decades in the making. South West Water said it is doing everything it can to manage resources, strengthen its network and fix leaks.

Public attitudes and water use

The Office for National Statistics surveyed 10,620 adults in Britain between 1 July and 27 September.

Some 85% said they had been affected in at least one way by climate change over the past 12 months, up from 74% in autumn 2025 and 66% in autumn 2024. Heatwaves were the most commonly reported effect at 78%, followed by drought at 40% and wildfires at 26%.

Around 30 million people in England still face restrictions on water use, and the North East and North West are the only areas not in drought. Much of Wales remains in drought, except south-west areas now classed as recovering.

Harvest and long-term supply

Data shows 2026 could be the worst harvest on record, and growers have suggested painting faces on vegetables instead of carving pumpkins. Guy Singh-Watson of Riverford said smaller squash were expected because pumpkins are mostly water. Guy Barter of the Royal Horticultural Society said pumpkins will be small unless heavily watered. Looking further ahead, Waterwise chief executive Nicci Russell said the Environment Agency had forecast a daily gap of five billion litres over the next two decades, with half to be closed by people using water more efficiently. The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management called for new reservoirs but described them as only part of the solution.