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Watering plants during a hosepipe ban

Updated: 22 October 2026

Watering plants during a hosepipe ban is a question of what counts as a hosepipe. In England and Wales the rule is a company notice with a date and an area. A watering can, a globe, a bottle spike or a wick from a jug is not that prohibited use. A mains line that mists the border is. The devices are on our [holiday watering comparison](/hub/garden-watering/holiday-watering). Peter F. used the Act, Ofwat, Water UK and company FAQs, plus those listings. This is not legal advice, and it is not a lab test. Updated 22 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Watering plants during a hosepipe ban is a question of what counts as a hosepipe. In England and Wales the rule is a company notice with a date and an area.

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On this page
  1. 1.What the ban actually prohibits
  2. 2.Methods that are not a hosepipe
  3. 3.When a drip line is still a hosepipe
  4. 4.Lets, Scotland and Northern Ireland

What the ban actually prohibits

Section 76 of the Water Industry Act 1991 lets a water company in England and Wales prohibit hosepipe uses, including watering gardens and domestic plants, when there is a serious shortage. The notice has to name a date and an area. Using a hosepipe in breach can be a criminal offence. The fine is level 3 on the standard scale. Ofwat puts that at up to £1,000. Anything you use as a hosepipe counts. Water UK's FAQ, as read for this page, listed 2026 bans at Affinity Water (Central), Anglian, Bristol, Cambridge, Essex and Suffolk, Southern Water (Hampshire and the Isle of Wight), South East Water, South West Water, Thames and Wessex. That was a snapshot, not a permanent map. A neighbour's company can be under a ban while yours is not.

Methods that are not a hosepipe

Water UK says cans are generally still allowed. South West Water says a watering can is not restricted, and that water from a butt sits outside the mains ban. Those are that company's words. Do not paste one FAQ onto every supplier. If your notice is silent, ask before you assume a butt hose is fine. Globes, bottle spikes and capillary wicks filled from a jug, a can or a butt are not a hosepipe on the mains. A pump that then drips from that tub is still using stored water, though the pump in the comparison is an indoor kit with no outdoor rating on the listing. How to set the trial the day before is on how to water plants while away.
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When a drip line is still a hosepipe

The claim that drip is allowed gets people into trouble, because the exemption is narrow and it is not national. Thames Water allows drip or trickle only when it is not handheld, it has a timer and a pressure-reducing valve, and it waters onto or into the soil without a jet. Mist does not match. South East Water describes the same shape: non-handheld drip or trickle with a timer and a pressure-reducing valve that does not spray. If your kit sprays, fogs, or you hold the lance, it is outside those sentences. If it has no timer or no pressure-reducing valve, do not assume the exemption applies. A pump that drinks from a bucket you filled with a can is not this mains question. A drip line left on the kitchen tap is.

Lets, Scotland and Northern Ireland

A holiday let does not automatically step outside a domestic ban. South East Water's Kent FAQ treats the garden as domestic if the owner pays council tax. Read your own company's line before you tell guests they may use the hose. Priority Services and Blue Badge exemptions differ by supplier. Section 76 is an England and Wales provision. Scotland and Northern Ireland follow their own suppliers. Do not quote this Act at Scottish Water or NI Water. If you are leaving a flat in Edinburgh or Belfast, use that supplier's page. A can, a butt and a wick are not a mains hose, and a mist line on the tap needs the local wording. Choose the device on the holiday plant waterer buying guide. This page does not replace the notice for your postcode.

Common questions

Are watering cans allowed?
On the sources used here, yes. Water UK says cans are generally still allowed, and South West Water says a watering can is not restricted. A can is how you fill a globe, a bottle spike or a wick tub without touching a hosepipe. If your notice says something narrower, the notice wins.
Is every drip kit exempt?
No. Thames Water and South East Water describe an exemption for non-handheld drip or trickle that has a timer and a pressure-reducing valve and does not spray. Mist is out. A kit without those parts is still a hosepipe use if it is on the mains. Company wording differs, so read yours.
What about a mist nozzle on the mains?
It does not match the drip exemption those FAQs describe. Mist, a jet, or a handheld lance is the use the ban is aimed at. Turn it off for the dates on the notice, and water with a can or with stored water instead.
Do globes, spikes and wicks count as a hosepipe?
Not when you fill them from a jug, a can or a butt. They do not stay connected to the mains. The products in our comparison are examples of that kind of method. They are not a ranking, and they do not make a mains spray legal.
Can I run a hose from a water butt?
South East Water's Kent FAQ allows a hosepipe from a rainwater butt, and South West Water treats butt water as outside the mains ban. That is those companies. If your supplier has not said the same thing, ask them before you leave a butt hose running for a fortnight.
Does this law cover Scotland and Northern Ireland?
Section 76 covers England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own suppliers and their own shortage rules. Use those pages. Do not assume a Thames or South East Water exemption applies in Glasgow or Belfast.
What is the fine?
Ofwat describes the penalty for breaching a hosepipe ban as up to £1,000, which matches a level 3 fine on the standard scale under the Act's offence. It is not a civil tap tax you can choose to pay. The notice still has to apply to your area on that date.

Related pages

Watering globes or a capillary wick

Holiday watering

Best holiday plant watering: RAINPOINT kit or wick

Holiday plant waterer buying guide: length and pots

How to water plants while away: trial the day before

Sources

Public sources named in the research digest, plus the saved amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts for these eleven listings. This page was assembled on 22 October 2026. There is no laboratory test.

  1. Water Industry Act 1991, section 76 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. Ofwat, hosepipe bans and what they mean for you (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. Water UK, hosepipe ban FAQs (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. South East Water, temporary use ban Kent FAQs (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. Thames Water, temporary hosepipe ban FAQs (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. RHS, holiday care for houseplants (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. RHS, how to look after your garden on holiday (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. Coopers of Stortford, glass globe sheet G346 (retrieved 22 October 2026)