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Hosepipe ban and a hose reel

Updated: 22 October 2026

If your water company has banned watering a garden with a hosepipe, the cart stays in the shed. A hosepipe ban and a hose reel are the same rule: the ban is about the use, and a trolley on the mains is not a quieter category. This page is from Peter F., editor for DIY & tools. The law is the Water Industry Act 1991, the company list is a dated GOV.UK note, and the tap advice is from WaterSafe. We did not rank carts here. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. The rows are the [50m hose reel cart comparison](/hub/garden-watering/50m-hose-reel-cart).

If your water company has banned watering a garden with a hosepipe, the cart stays in the shed.

Our top picks

Gardena Gardena CleverRoll M Easy

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Gardena Gardena CleverRoll M Easy
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Hozelock Hozelock 60 metre hose cart

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Hozelock Hozelock 60 metre hose cart
8.3/10about £49.21
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Hozelock Hozelock cart with 50m Ultramax hose

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Hozelock Hozelock cart with 50m Ultramax hose
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On this page
  1. 1.A cart is still a hosepipe
  2. 2.Who had a ban in early October 2026
  3. 3.Cans, butts and exemptions
  4. 4.The outside tap after the ban

A cart is still a hosepipe

Section 76 of the Water Industry Act 1991 lets a water undertaker ban specified uses while a serious shortage of rain is in prospect. Watering a garden with a hosepipe is one of those uses. Section 76A says a hosepipe includes anything used the same way. A 50 metre cart with a spray gun is that purpose. Ofwat calls this a Temporary Use Ban and states the penalty as up to £1,000, level 3 on the standard scale. The undertaker on your bill decides, and it can limit the ban to part of its area. Storing a cart you already own is covered in how to use a hose reel cart.

Who had a ban in early October 2026

For 2 to 8 October 2026, GOV.UK’s England note listed Temporary Use Bans at Affinity Water (Central and East), Anglian Water except Hartlepool, Bristol Water, Cambridge Water, Essex and Suffolk Water, Southern Water in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, South East Water, South West Water except Bournemouth, Thames Water and Wessex Water. The note will date. Thames Water’s own page still showed a ban on 12 October 2026. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not that England table. Read the notice that names your area.
Gardena Gardena CleverRoll M Easy

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Gardena Gardena CleverRoll M Easy
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Cans, butts and exemptions

Water UK’s hosepipe FAQ says watering cans and buckets are generally still allowed, subject to the company notice. Fill the can at the tap and carry it. A cart does not become a watering can because you stand still while you spray. Some notices allow a hose fed only from a water butt, with conditions that can include drip irrigation. Anglian Water has used its own drip wording. That is one company, not every postcode. If the notice is silent, assume a hose on a cart is still restricted. The hose reel cart buying guide can wait. Buying during a ban is lawful. Watering the garden from the mains is the act the ban is about.

The outside tap after the ban

When the ban lifts, the tap rule stays. WaterSafe tells households to fit a double check valve on an outside tap, indoors or where frost will not reach, so used water cannot be pulled back into the supply. Do not leave the hose end in a butt, a pond or a bucket while the mains is open. Run the hose cool before you use a spray gun. Water left in a warm pipe is a Legionella caution. Call a plumber if you cannot see that valve, if you dose feed or weedkiller through the hose, or if you are altering the supply. A cart’s anti-drip claim is not the valve.

Common questions

Does a reel cart make a hosepipe ban not apply?
No. Section 76A treats a hosepipe as including anything used the same way. Watering plants with a cart, a gun or a sprinkler on the mains is still watering a garden with a hosepipe. The ban, where your undertaker has made one, applies to that use. A tidier drum does not create an exemption.
Who decides, the council or the water company?
The water undertaker that supplies the property. The power sits in section 76 of the Water Industry Act 1991. The council does not publish your Temporary Use Ban. Your bill shows the company, and that company’s notice shows whether your area, or only part of it, is included.
Which areas were restricted in early October 2026?
In the GOV.UK England note for 2 to 8 October 2026, the list included Affinity Central and East, Anglian except Hartlepool, Bristol, Cambridge, Essex and Suffolk, Southern in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, South East, South West except Bournemouth, Thames and Wessex. Thames Water’s own page still showed a ban on 12 October 2026. Check the live notice. That week is not current by itself.
Can I use a watering can?
Water UK says cans and buckets are generally allowed when a hosepipe is banned, subject to the exemptions in your company’s notice. Fill the can at the tap and carry it. Do not run a hose into the can and call that a bucket. If the notice names a further limit, the notice wins.
Can I use a water butt?
Only in the way your company’s notice describes. Some notices allow limited use of stored water, and the conditions differ, including on drip systems. A hose from a butt is not automatically outside a Temporary Use Ban. If the notice does not exempt it, do not invent the exemption.
What is the fine?
Ofwat describes the penalty for breaching a Temporary Use Ban as up to £1,000, which is level 3 on the standard scale. The fine is for the prohibited use, not for owning a cart. Owning the reel in a shed is not the offence. Watering the garden from the mains with that reel, during a ban, is the use section 76 is aimed at.
Do I still need a double check valve when the ban ends?
Yes, if you use an outside tap. WaterSafe advises a double check valve, protected from frost, whether or not a ban is in force. Do not submerge the hose in a butt or a pond while it is on the mains. The ban ending restores the hosepipe use your company had paused. It does not remove the backflow fitting.

Related pages

Best hose reel cart

50m hose reel cart

Hose reel cart buying guide: read the metre figure

How to use a hose reel cart: wind, drain and store

Hose reel cart with or without a hose, one decision

Sources

Public UK sources for hosepipe bans, the outside-tap check valve, and maker capacity and storage notes. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk lines saved for this comparison on 19 October 2026. Last checked 22 October 2026.

  1. GOV.UK, dry weather and drought in England, 2 to 8 October 2026 (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  2. Water UK, hosepipe bans FAQ (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  3. Water Industry Act 1991, section 76 (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  4. Ofwat, hosepipe bans and what they mean (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  5. WaterSafe, double check valve on an outside tap (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  6. Hozelock, assembled hose cart with hose (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  7. Gardena UK, hose trolleys (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  8. Hozelock, looking after your products (retrieved 19.10.2026)