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Sprinkler hosepipe ban

Updated: 22 October 2026

A circular sprinkler on the end of a hose is not a special category of watering. Where your water company has a temporary use ban in force, that sprinkler is a hosepipe, and using it from the mains to water the garden is prohibited. Peter F. updated this page on 22 October 2026, from sources read on 20 October 2026. The [circular sprinkler comparison](/hub/garden-watering/circular-sprinkler) is the product table. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Check the company that bills you before you open the tap. How to set an arc, once you are allowed to run the head, is [how to set a circular sprinkler](/hub/garden-watering/circular-sprinkler/sub/circular-sprinkler-how-to-set).

A circular sprinkler on the end of a hose is not a special category of watering.

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On this page
  1. 1.When a sprinkler counts as a hosepipe
  2. 2.What the October 2026 notices still allow
  3. 3.A water butt and this kind of sprinkler
  4. 4.New turf and food crops

When a sprinkler counts as a hosepipe

In England and Wales the power sits in section 76 of the Water Industry Act 1991, as substituted by section 36 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. A water undertaker can prohibit specified uses of water supplied through a hosepipe. The banned list in that section includes watering a garden with a hosepipe. The offence is a fine up to level 3 on the standard scale. The Water Use (Temporary Bans) Order 2010 says what counts as a garden. A lawn is included. Anglian Water’s statutory notice names sprinklers. Scotland and Northern Ireland are not covered by that England and Wales section. Scottish Water and NI Water publish their own drought notices. The notices in force in the sources read on 20 October 2026 were Thames Water, still in place on its page updated 12 October 2026; Anglian Water from 11 July 2026, with Hartlepool excluded on that version 3 notice; Essex & Suffolk Water from 3 August 2026; and South East Water in Sussex from 9 October 2026. That list will change. “Hosepipe ban across the UK” is the sentence this page will not support.

What the October 2026 notices still allow

Thames Water’s page, updated 12 October 2026, says sprinklers must not water gardens or lawns from the mains. A watering can is still listed. Stored rainwater is still listed. Its FAQ allows a drip system only with a timer, a pressure-reducing valve, no handheld use, and no spray. A circular sprinkler sprays. It does not meet that drip test. South East Water’s Sussex FAQs, for restrictions from 9 October 2026, prohibit sprinklers on the mains. A hose already fitted to a water butt is not the restricted use, because the water is not the mains supply. You must not fill that butt from the mains with a hose while the ban is on. If your undertaker is not on this list, these four notices do not decide your street. The Royal Horticultural Society says that even with no ban, an established lawn does not need a sprinkler. It can brown and recover. Buying advice for a head you will use when the notice lifts is the circular sprinkler buying guide.
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A water butt and this kind of sprinkler

Stored rainwater is a different source. The Sussex and Thames pages both treat water already in a butt as outside the hosepipe prohibition, provided you do not top the butt up from the mains with a hose. That is the legal half of the question. A typical garden butt feeds by gravity. The head of water is small. A rule of thumb for that head is about 0.1–0.3 bar, far below the pressure these listings assume. Dermasy prints a minimum of about 28.4 psi, which is about 2 bar. A butt without a pump will not run them, even though using the stored water itself is allowed. Do not run a hose from the kitchen tap into the butt. That fill is mains water through a hosepipe.

New turf and food crops

Thames has published concessions for newly laid turf in its own FAQ at times. South East Water’s Sussex update said earlier exemptions were removed except health, safety, and welfare. Copying a Thames landscaper rule onto a Sussex postcode is how people get the ban wrong. Open the notice that names your supply, read the exemption list on that page, and follow the dates printed there. A circular sprinkler over a vegetable row is still a sprinkler, not a drip line with a timer, a pressure-reducing valve, and no spray.

Common questions

Is a circular sprinkler classed as a hosepipe?
Yes, where a temporary use ban is in force on your supply. Section 76 and the notices treat a sprinkler as a way of using a hosepipe. The shape of the spray does not move it into another class. Mains water onto a lawn or a garden through that head is the prohibited use.
Is the ban the same everywhere in the UK?
No. The section 76 power used here is England and Wales, and each undertaker publishes its own notice. On 20 October 2026 the sources showed Thames, Anglian, Essex & Suffolk, and South East Water in Sussex. Scotland and Northern Ireland use their own drought powers. Check the company on your bill.
Can I water from a butt?
Stored rainwater is the source Thames and South East Water still describe as allowed. Do not fill the butt from the mains with a hose during the ban. Gravity from a typical butt is only about 0.1–0.3 bar, so these sprinklers will not spin unless you add a pump. A can works without one.
What about new turf?
Read your supplier’s exemption list. Do not apply a 28-day rule from one company to another. Sussex material reviewed for this page had removed earlier exemptions except health, safety, and welfare. A neighbour on Thames Water can be under a different concession on the same day.
Should I buy a sprinkler during a ban?
Not if the plan is to water an established lawn from the mains while your notice is in force. A can or stored rainwater is the route those pages describe. Buy a head when you are allowed to use the hose, or when you have a pumped supply that is actually legal. The product table does not override the notice.

Related pages

Best circular sprinkler

Circular sprinkler

Circular sprinkler buying guide for shape and the tap

How to set a circular sprinkler arc, throw and time

Circular vs oscillating sprinkler: circle or rectangle

Sources

Public UK sources for temporary use bans and watering, plus a buyer’s note on impact heads and hose length. Prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk lines saved with this comparison. Ban status is as of 20 October 2026 and is by supplier, not national.

  1. Flood and Water Management Act 2010, section 36 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  2. Water Use (Temporary Bans) Order 2010 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  3. Thames Water — temporary hosepipe ban (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  4. Anglian Water — temporary use ban notice (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  5. South East Water — Sussex hosepipe FAQs (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  6. RHS — watering (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  7. Easy Garden Irrigation — impact sprinkler guide (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  8. Masseys DIY — Hozelock garden sprinklers (retrieved 22.10.2026)