Hosepipe ban finally lifted from last summer

South West Water says customers’ water-saving efforts and recent rainfall have replenished resources

A hosepipe ban affecting thousands of households in England has finally been lifted more than a year after it was imposed.

South West Water, which has 1.8 million customers, imposed restrictions in Devon and Cornwall last year but axed them on 25 September.

In a letter sent to customers, the company said water-saving efforts and “recent rainfall” meant that its resources were now in a “much more stable” position.

SWW, which also covers parts of Somerset and Dorset, thanked residents for their “ongoing support”.

The water company announced a “temporary” ban on hosepipes in August 2022, restricting households’ ability to water their gardens and wash their cars.

Businesses and farmers were exempt.

The ban was enforced after drought was officially declared in eight areas of England in a baking hot summer.

Hosepipe bans were introduced by several other water companies over the past two years amid extremely dry conditions.

South East Water imposed restrictions in Kent and Sussex amid soaring demand for water in June.

The firm said at the time that despite providing an extra 120 million litres of water a day, demand in June broke records, including from the Covid lockdown heatwave.

File photo: A man waters his garden (Getty Images)

Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, Southern Water and Yorkshire Water also introduced bans but these have since been lifted, on 25 October 2022, 4 November 2022 and 6 December 2022 respectively.

Although the hosepipe situation across the UK has improved, residents in some areas continue to experience supply issues and water companies have recently come under fire for their poor performance.

Earlier this week regulator Ofwat told water companies to pay out a net total of £114 million to billpayers after failing to meet key targets on reducing pollution, leakage and supply interruptions while customer satisfaction continued to fall.

On Thursday morning Southern Water was forced to open a bottled water station at Rye Station, East Sussex after residents there were left with no water or supply issues.

“We’re sorry for the continued disruption and distress this is causing,” the company said on its website.

Earlier in September schools were forced to shut due to supply issues in parts of West London. Thames Water apologised for the outage which was caused by a power supply issue that was resolved later that day.