Yorkshire Water’s hosepipe restrictions begin

Temporary hosepipe restrictions are now in force in Yorkshire following the driest and warmest spring for 132 years, which led to the region being declared in drought. 

Activities that are not permitted while the temporary restrictions are in place include:   

• Using a hosepipe to water a garden  
• Using a hosepipe to clean private vehicles or boats  
• Watering plants with a hosepipe on a domestic or other non-commercial premises
• Filling or maintaining a domestic swimming, paddling pool, hot tub or cold-water plunge pool with a hosepipe
• Using a hosepipe for domestic recreational use
• Filling or maintaining a domestic pond or ornamental fountain using a hosepipe
• Cleaning walls or windows of domestic premises using a hosepipe
• Cleaning paths or patios using a hosepipe
• Cleaning other artificial outdoor surfaces using a hosepipe

People can still wash their car and water their gardens without using a hosepipe if they use tap water from a bucket or watering can; or use water that is not sourced from taps such as grey water, rainwater from a water butt, or a private borehole.  

Businesses will be allowed to use a hosepipe if it is directly related to a commercial purpose. There are restrictions on using a hosepipe if not for those essential commercial needs – so using a hosepipe to clean a path outside a business property, for example, would not be allowed.   

Blue badge holders, those on Yorkshire Water’s Priority Services Register or WaterSure tariff for medical reasons, are also excluded from the restrictions.   

Yorkshire Water’s director of water, Dave Kaye, said: “We are implementing the hosepipe restrictions now to help conserve water for the coming months and to protect Yorkshire's environment. As a result, people are being asked to stop using their hosepipes to water their gardens, wash their cars or for any other activities.  

“Introducing these restrictions is not a decision we have taken lightly, and we’ve been doing everything we can to avoid having to put them in place.  

“Our region experienced an extremely dry spring, which resulted in the region entering drought status in June. Usually, spring is a time when our groundwater sources and reservoirs continue to be topped-up by changeable weather, but this has not been the case in 2025, with our reservoir stocks falling since the last week of January. 

“Of course, we have seen a few periods of changeable weather more recently, which helped slightly with the water resources picture. But these have been followed by constant high temperatures and more dry weather, which causes increased water usage. Between April and June, we supplied an additional 4.3 billion litres of water compared with a typical year.   

“We’re grateful to our customers, who have been saving water where they can this year already. It is really important that we all continue to do so.” 

Yorkshire Water has been carefully managing water resources in the region for several months, moving water via a regionwide grid system to balance stocks. The company has been finding and fixing leaks 24/7, which has resulted in leakage being at its lowest ever level in Yorkshire. Customers have been regularly updated on reservoir levels, the challenges of hot dry weather, and have been encouraged to reduce their water consumption through a variety of measures like using water butts to catch rainwater for use in the garden, or cutting down the length of time spent in the shower. 

In the longer-term, Yorkshire Water is investing £406m to replace more than 1,000km of water mains around the region to reduce leaks and bursts, as well as exchanging 1.3 million smart meters to help detect leaks. 

The utility is also investing in improvements to water treatment works in the region and new water sources for the future, with borehole projects underway in Brayton and East Ness to bring new sources of raw water into supply. 

For more information on what is included in the restrictions, go to Yorkshire Water’s dedicated hosepipe ban webpage.