South East Water issues hosepipe ban in Kent as heatwave grips UK

South East Water has announced a hosepipe ban covering nine areas in Kent as a prolonged heatwave drives drinking-water demand higher.

The company has told residents to stop using hosepipes immediately, even though the formal ban is due to take effect on July 3, 2026. The restriction applies to common outdoor uses including watering gardens, washing cars and patios, and filling swimming and paddling pools.

South East Water said it is producing more than an extra 100 million litres of water a day, but cannot treat and refill water fast enough to keep up with demand.

What is changing

The ban covers hosepipes and sprinklers used for outdoor watering and cleaning. It also affects filling pools, as the company tries to protect supply during a period of peak summer demand.

The move is a response to pressure on the network rather than a long-running outage or a contamination problem. South East Water supplies households across Kent and the wider south east of England.

Why the restriction has been imposed

The company’s announcement comes as the UK faces a severe heatwave, with a red extreme-heat warning in force and temperatures reaching the mid-30s Celsius in parts of southern England.

The wider weather has pushed drinking-water demand sharply higher. South East Water says storage tanks are being drawn down faster than they can be refilled, even with extra production running at more than 100 million litres a day above normal levels.

The immediate concern is maintaining reliable supply for homes while demand remains elevated. Water companies typically use hosepipe bans to cut non-essential outdoor use when demand climbs faster than treatment and refill systems can cope.

What is known so far

The company has said the ban affects nine Kent areas, but it has not yet publicly set out the full list in the material available so far.

It is also unclear how long the restriction will last. South East Water has not yet detailed whether any exemptions will apply for essential or commercial water use.

What happens next

The next questions are whether South East Water widens the ban, how long supply pressure remains elevated, and whether other water companies introduce similar restrictions if the heat persists.

The heatwave has already disrupted daily life across the UK, with public services, transport and health systems under pressure as temperatures remain unusually high for late June.