Thames Water hosepipe ban comes into place
The ban comes into place following the UK’s driest spring on record.
Thames Water’s hosepipe ban across Swindon, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire comes into effect today (22nd July).
The ban, also known as a temporary use ban, covers the Thames Valley region which includes areas with a postcode starting with OX, GL, SN and RG4, RG8 and RG9.
The decision was made to put the ban into place after the area was placed in Prolonged Dry Weather status by the Environment Agency, meaning there is a heightened risk of drought.
Customers of the water supplier are being asked not to use hosepipes, including for cleaning cars, watering gardens or allotments, filling paddling pools and swimming pools or cleaning windows.
Nevil Muncaster, Strategic Water Resources Director at Thames Water told Greatest Hits Radio why the ban is needed: “A temporary use ban in place will reduce usage by about 10%.
“And that 10% makes a big difference in what we’re doing.
“If people are then also taking other measure such as fixing leaky loos, showering less then that all contributes and allows us to get through this really hot period.”
Don't call 999 to report hosepipe users, police say...
Thames Valley Police is urging people not to call 999 if they see someone disobeying the hosepipe ban.
A spokesperson said: “Thames Valley Police is asking the public not to report hosepipe ban breaches to the police. Suspected violations should be reported to the relevant water authority.”
“Please do not call 999, as this could prevent us from responding to real emergencies.
“Remember, call 999 only in an emergency, when a crime is in progress or there is an immediate risk to life or safety.
“For non-emergency matters, you can contact us on 101 or report online at tvp.police.uk. In cases like this, your water authority should be your first point of contact.”
GMB Union say the ban is "disgraceful"
The ban has been faced with some criticism by GMB Union.
GMB has described Thames Water’s decision to impose a hosepipe ban after wasting 200 billion litres of water last year as ‘disgraceful’.
Gary Carter, GMB National Officer, said: “Thames Water lost 200 billion litres of water through leaks last year,
“That’s 570 million litres wasted every single day - the worst in the country.
“GMB members at Thames are working hard and doing the best they can, but they’ve had their hands tied behind their backs by crumbling infrastructure and non-existent investment.
“For Thames Water to now impose a hosepipe, while bills rocket, is disgraceful.”
A Thames Water spokesperson said; “Leakage is at its lowest ever level on our network, down 13.2% since 2020, but we know we have more work to do. The extended warm weather also brings increased risks of leaks and bursts due to pipe stress and shifting foundations in the ground.
“We’ve increased leakage teams in our region and we’re fixing 650 leaks a week with our engineers targeting leaks with the greatest impact to local water supplies. We're also replacing 500km of water mains over the next five years to reduce leakage.
“We’re using innovative technology and data to find and fix leaks faster. So far, we have installed almost 40,000 acoustic loggers on our water network to help detect leaks and expect to have 100,000 in place by mid-2027.
“We’ve installed over 1 million smart meters, which are critical in helping us to locate leaks at our customers' homes. We’ll continue to roll out smart water meters to households in our area, installing or upgrading a further c.1,200,000 smart meters to homes and businesses by 2030.”