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Hosepipe ban and a water butt

Updated: October 2026

The ban notice is on the kitchen table, and the butt under the downpipe is the thing you hope still counts. A hosepipe ban and a water butt are not opposites. The ban restricts water the company supplies. Rain you have already stored is a different source, and your own company's notice still decides the detail. This page does not score tanks. The rows are on the [water butts](/hub/garden-watering/water-butt) comparison. The Products Compared editorial team used the Water Industry Act 1991, Ofwat, and the Thames Water pages current on 12 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The ban notice is on the kitchen table, and the butt under the downpipe is the thing you hope still counts. A hosepipe ban and a water butt are not opposites. The ban restricts water the company supplies.

Our top picks

Pluto Packaging Pluto 100 litre kit

Best overall

Pluto Packaging Pluto 100 litre kit
9.0/10about £33.69
View offer
BeGrit BeGrit collapsible butt

Alternative

BeGrit BeGrit collapsible butt
8.8/10about £59.99
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Whitefurze Whitefurze 250 litre kit

Alternative

Whitefurze Whitefurze 250 litre kit
8.4/10about £79.99
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On this page
  1. 1.A ban covers the company's water
  2. 2.A watering can of stored rain is the safe assumption
  3. 3.Do not refill the butt from the mains to dodge the ban
  4. 4.Check the notice that applies to your supply

A ban covers the company's water

Section 76 of the Water Industry Act 1991 lets a water company ban specified uses of the water it supplies. Ofwat describes that restriction as a temporary use ban. The ban is on that supply, not on every drop of water on the property. Roof rain you collected before the ban, or during it, is not water the company just sent through the meter. Ofwat says a watering can is still allowed, and it describes the maximum fine as up to £1,000. Thames Water's help page of 12 October 2026 said a temporary use ban remained for customers it supplies. The legal notice starts at 00:01 BST on 23 July 2026, until further notice. That page is one supplier, not a national script.

A watering can of stored rain is the safe assumption

Thames Water's help page still allowed two things that matter here: watering plants with a watering can, and using stored rainwater from a water butt. A hose is where the notices split. Thames Water's legal notice, for prohibitions other than 5 and 8, allows a can of mains water, or water that is not from the mains. It gives rainwater from a water butt through a hosepipe as an example. Prohibitions 5 and 8 apply to every way of filling, so read those two on the notice before you run a hose. The Thames FAQ also allows a hose from a butt, and a mains hose of at most 30 cm to fill a can. That 30 cm line is Thames Water's FAQ, not a national rule. South East Water's Sussex FAQ allows a hose on a butt and forbids a mains hose into the butt. Until you have read yours, use the can.
Pluto Packaging Pluto 100 litre kit

Testsieger

Pluto Packaging Pluto 100 litre kit
9.0/10about £33.69
View offer

Do not refill the butt from the mains to dodge the ban

Topping the butt up from the tap is using the company's water to dodge the ban. Do not do it. A mains top-up, even in ordinary times, needs an air gap and notification under the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999. That plumbing is installer work, on the how to install a water butt page, and a ban does not make the air gap optional. If the notice is confusing, use the can on the plants and leave the mains tap alone.

Check the notice that applies to your supply

Your bill names the company. Thames Water's July 2026 notice is not a rule for every supply. Another company can be stricter, or can have no ban. The company withdraws the notice. Rain can still fill the butt while the ban continues. If you have no butt yet, the best water butt page says who a narrow kit is for. A ban does not make a slow PVC tap into a legal hosepipe. Depth and winter storage are on the slimline water butt versus collapsible page. Use a can of what the roof already gave you, unless your company's text clearly allows more.

Common questions

Can I use a water butt during a hosepipe ban?
Yes for stored roof rain. The ban is on water the company supplies, and Ofwat still describes a watering can as allowed. Thames Water's page of 12 October 2026 said stored rainwater from a water butt was still allowed for the customers it supplies. That is not a promise that every company writes the same sentence. Using the butt is not a licence to refill it from the mains, or to drink the water.
Can I run a hosepipe from the butt?
Only if your company's notice allows non-mains water for that job. Thames Water's legal notice gives rainwater from a water butt through a hosepipe as an example, for prohibitions other than 5 and 8. Those two apply to every means of filling. South East Water's Sussex FAQ allows a hose on a butt. Another company may not. One supplier's example is not a rule for the whole of the UK.
Can I top the butt up from the mains to get around the ban?
No. That is the company's water, which is what the ban restricts. South East Water's Sussex FAQ says a mains hosepipe must not fill the butt. A mains top-up, even outside a ban, needs an air gap and notification so rainwater cannot siphon back. Draping the outdoor hose into the lid fails both tests. Wait for the roof, or use a can within what the notice allows.
Does the same rule apply at every water company?
No. Section 76 lets each company ban specified uses of the water it supplies. Thames Water's notice from 23 July 2026 is one text. South East Water's Sussex FAQ is another, and it still forbids filling the butt from a mains hose. Some areas have no temporary use ban. Check the company on your bill before you copy a rule from a neighbouring county.
Is water-butt water safe to drink?
No. Roof water is for the garden. It can carry debris from the tiles. BS EN 16941-1:2024 covers non-potable systems and excludes drinking water. A lid reduces leaves. It does not make the water safe to drink. Ofwat's maximum fine of up to £1,000 is a maximum in the explainer, not a fixed charge for using a can. Use the mains for drinking.

Related pages

Watering can comparison

Water butt

Best water butt for a narrow gap or a larger store

Water butt buying guide: the gap, the carton, the litres

How to install a water butt before you cut the downpipe

Slimline water butt vs collapsible PVC in a narrow gap

Sources

Sources checked for this comparison. Shelf prices and star lines are from the amazon.co.uk listings on 15 October 2026.

  1. RHS, collecting, storing and using rainwater (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  2. RoSPA, garden safety (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  3. Ofwat, hosepipe bans and non-essential use bans (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  4. Thames Water, temporary hosepipe ban (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  5. Water Industry Act 1991, section 76 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  6. Waterwise, rainwater butts (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  7. BSI, BS EN 16941-1:2024 on-site non-potable water systems (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  8. Screwfix, how a water butt diverter works (retrieved 15 October 2026)