Hosepipe ban from next Tuesday
14/07/2025
Thames Water has seen customers’ daily demand for water reach levels last seen during the 2022 drought
Thames Water is implementing a hosepipe ban for their customers, which will be in force from next Tuesday (July 22).
The company says that following the driest spring in over a century and England’s warmest June on record, the Environment Agency has placed the Thames Water area into its Prolonged Dry Weather category. This means there is a heightened risk of drought.
Thames Water customers are being told not to use hosepipes, including for cleaning cars, watering gardens or allotments, filling paddling pools and swimming pools or cleaning windows.
The ruling doesn’t impact businesses where water use is a core part of their purpose.
Across the Swindon and Oxfordshire areas, the company has seen customers’ daily demand for water reach levels last seen during the 2022 drought. Thames Water data shows customers often use up to 30% more water on hot days where the temperature is above 25 degrees.
Nevil Muncaster, Strategic Water Resources Director at Thames Water said: “This has been a challenging spring and summer with big spikes in customer demand during hot dry days and very little rainfall to replenish local supplies in the Thames Valley.
“Given the continued warm, dry weather we do not anticipate that the situation will improve any time soon so we have to take action now. Every drop of water we use comes from the environment and we have to balance protecting this while taking out the water needed to top-up reservoir levels.
“That is why we have had to make to the difficult decision to implement a hosepipe ban to make sure there’s enough water for customers’ essential needs and to protect rivers.
“While this TUB will only affect customers in certain areas, I want to thank all our customers for their understanding and for their support so far to reduce their water use. This includes turning the taps off while brushing teeth, taking shorter showers and letting your lawn go dry.”
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
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