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Hosepipe ban and your garden hose

Updated: 22 October 2026

A new coil on the path feels like permission to water. A hosepipe ban garden hose question has a narrower answer. If the company that supplies your clean water has a temporary use ban in force, you do not water the garden with any hosepipe unless that company's published exemption covers you. A 19 mm bore does not create an exemption, and a 12.5 mm bore does not make a banned use lawful. Updated on 21 October 2026. The law and the company pages below are public UK sources. We did not check your postcode, and a ban can change after a page is updated. Which hose to buy, once use is allowed, is the [garden hose 3/4 inch comparison](/hub/garden-watering/garden-hose-3-4-inch).

A new coil on the path feels like permission to water. A hosepipe ban garden hose question has a narrower answer.

Our top picks

Faithfull Faithfull 19 mm 30 m

Best overall

Faithfull Faithfull 19 mm 30 m
6.1/10about £43.00
View offer
Flexi Hose Flexi Hose 50 ft expandable

Rank 2

Flexi Hose Flexi Hose 50 ft expandable
7.4/10about £19.99
View offer
Lukiegale Lukiegale 50 ft expandable

Alternative

Lukiegale Lukiegale 50 ft expandable
6.4/10about £23.79
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What a hosepipe ban prohibits
  2. 2.Exemptions are not the same everywhere
  3. 3.A wider hose is not an exemption
  4. 4.What to do before you rely on a new hose

What a hosepipe ban prohibits

A temporary use ban is a water company's restriction under section 76 of the Water Industry Act 1991. It needs a date and an area. Ofwat's explainer: a ban stops hosepipe uses such as watering a garden, filling a paddling pool, and washing a car. Contravention is a level 3 fine under that section. Ofwat's words for the penalty are up to £1,000, for the England and Wales frame, not a quote from your water bill. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are not answered by an England company's map. Scottish Water, Dŵr Cymru, and NI Water publish their own notices.

Exemptions are not the same everywhere

An exemption is a line on your supplier's notice. It does not travel to the next company. Thames Water's temporary use ban page, updated on 12 October 2026, showed the ban in force. Hosepipes, sprinklers, and pressure washers are restricted. A watering can, a water butt, and a bucket are allowed. Thames's FAQ includes some drip systems with a timer and a pressure-reducing valve. South East Water's Sussex restrictions were enforceable from 9 October 2026, and earlier exemptions were removed except for health, safety, or welfare. The Environment Agency's account is that the water company decides, and that the notice goes in two newspapers and on the company's website. Fitting the connector, on how to connect a 3/4 hose to an outside tap, does not tell you whether the tap may be opened for the lawn.
Faithfull Faithfull 19 mm 30 m

Testsieger

Faithfull Faithfull 19 mm 30 m
6.1/10about £43.00
View offer

A wider hose is not an exemption

When watering with a hosepipe is allowed, a stated 19 mm bore can move more water in the same minute than a 12.5 mm hose, which is the flow point on the 1/2 vs 3/4 garden hose page. Section 76 does not grade the offence by millimetres of bore. A pocket expandable with a 3/4 inch nut is still a hosepipe if the ban prohibits that use. Water taken from a butt, without the hose being filled from the banned tap, is generally outside mains hosepipe use. Thames's page allows a water butt. Do not leave a mains hose draped into the butt. If you filled that butt from the outside tap after the ban started, you have used the supply the notice restricts. Diameter, on the 19mm garden hose buying guide, is not a permission slip.

What to do before you rely on a new hose

Open the website of the company that supplies your clean water, not the sewerage company if those bills are split. Search that site for the ban, read the date and the area, and read the exemption list on that site only. South East Water's Sussex change on 9 October 2026 shows how fast a notice moves. If the ban is in force and you are not on a published exemption, water with a can, a bucket, or rainwater that is not being topped up from the banned tap. If your company's exemption clearly includes the way you want to water, then choose the hose. Thames's 12 October 2026 update still showed a ban for its customers, and your street may have changed since 21 October 2026.

Common questions

Can I use a new garden hose if there is a hosepipe ban?
Not for a prohibited use, unless your clean-water supplier's current notice exempts you. A new 19 mm hose, a new expandable, and an old 12.5 mm hose are all hosepipes for this purpose. Section 76 is about the use, the date, and the area. Water today's beds with a can or a bucket if the ban covers you.
Can I water with a watering can?
Yes. That is the ordinary alternative Ofwat describes, and Thames Water's page, updated on 12 October 2026, allows a watering can, a water butt, and a bucket while restricting hosepipes, sprinklers, and pressure washers. Do not run a hosepipe into the can and call the can the method. Read the notice named on your clean-water bill.
Does a drip line count as a hosepipe?
It depends on the notice, not on the hardware. Thames Water's FAQ includes some drip systems that use a timer and a pressure-reducing valve. South East Water's Sussex restrictions, enforceable from 9 October 2026, removed earlier exemptions except for health, safety, or welfare. If your supplier's page does not name your drip set-up, treat it as a hosepipe use and stop.
Does the ban depend on my water company?
Yes. The company sets the date, the area, and the exemptions, and it publishes the notice in two newspapers and on its website, which is the Environment Agency's account. Thames Water and South East Water were not on the same exemption text in October 2026. An England list does not cover a household supplied in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.
What if I only use rainwater from a butt?
Rainwater from a butt is generally outside mains hosepipe use when the hose is not being filled from the banned tap. Thames's page allows a water butt. You step back into the ban if you top the butt up from the outside tap, or if you leave a mains hose running into it. Confirm the butt wording on your own supplier's page.

Related pages

Best 3/4 inch garden hose

Garden hose 3/4 inch

19mm garden hose buying guide: decide bore and length

How to connect a 3/4 hose to an outside tap safely

1/2 vs 3/4 garden hose: flow, weight, and fittings

Sources

Public UK sources for tap size, hosepipe bans, pressure and backflow. Shelf prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures captured for these nine listings on 21 October 2026. Last checked 22 October 2026.

  1. Hozelock, how to measure your tap (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. Hozelock, 3/4 inch and 1/2 inch outdoor tap connector (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. Water Industry Act 1991, section 76 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. Ofwat, hosepipe bans and non-essential use bans (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. Ofwat, water pressure (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, Schedule 2 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. WaterSafe, hosepipe backflow (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. BBC Gardeners' World, best garden hoses (2026) (retrieved 21 October 2026)