Your hosepipe ban questions answered

A hosepipe ban is in force across Devon, Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and parts of Dorset and Somerset as hot and dry weather puts pressure on the South West's water supplies.

The latest figures show Wimbleball Reservoir on Exmoor is at 14.9% capacity. Other major reservoirs are also low, including Roadford in Devon at 36.8%, Burrator at 33.6%, Colliford in Cornwall at 35% and Stithians at 21.9%.

The Environment Agency has classed Colliford and Wimbleball as having exceptionally low levels

A drought permit for Wimbleball reservoir will remain in place until the end of February 2027 unless South West Water withdraws it before then.

An application for a ban on non-essential water use for some businesses across parts of Devon and West Dorset was submitted on 6 October.

We put some of your questions to South West Water about why it is happening and when it might end.

South West Water said: "We have seen a prolonged period of hot and dry weather, with record temperatures and rainfall well below seasonal averages over many months.

"Along with continuous high demand for water this has caused increasing pressure on reservoirs and available water resources.

"The Environment Agency has declared half of England, including the South West, in drought.

"Most recently, the Met Office has announced that England and Wales have provisionally recorded their driest July on record, with Southern England seeing its driest month ever recorded, in a series dating back to 1836.

"The hosepipe ban is necessary to ensure we can continue to supply enough water to meet people's essential needs."

At the moment, you cannot use your hosepipe for "non-essential" reasons which include:

• Watering gardens or plants
• Washing a car, patio or boat
• Filling a swimming or paddling pool
• Filling or maintain a domestic pond

Anyone breaking the rules could face a fine of up to £1,000, said South West Water.

There are some automatic exceptions, including:

• Commercial businesses, such as car washes or those that need to water
• Blue badge holders
• Filling a pond where the welfare of fish depend on it
• Filling pools for medical treatment
• Watering an allotment where plants are grown for food, including home gardens

A full list can be found here.

The hosepipe ban came into force on 8 August and there is no definite end date.

South West Water said: "We understand customers want to know when restrictions will end, but it's not possible to provide an exact timeframe.

"The ban will remain in effect until water resources have recovered sufficiently and we're confident supplies are back to normal.

"We'll keep customers updated throughout and will lift the restrictions as soon as conditions allow."

A drought was declared in the South West. South West Water's drought plan outlines a number of actions the firm could take if supplies continued to be under pressure.

These include: banning the non-essential use of water for certain activities, tankering water to reservoirs and accessing additional sources of water from disused or unlicenced sources.

The South West experienced record-breaking levels of rain in the winter of 2025 and 2026 and the firm said in February it was "confident" about supplies.

However, Sam Bottomley, water services director at South West Water, said demand on the network had meant a reassessment.

He said: "We had a wet winter and, going into the summer, all of our reservoirs were full.

"We completed all of the prep work on our treatment works, we did all our pre-summer readiness plans and we were in a good place."

However, he said "huge demand" from residents and visitors and capacity at treatment works had changed the picture.

"It's outstripping what we can do," he said.

He said leaks across its network were also a "real challenge".

"We're repairing more leaks over the last three months than we ever have," he said.

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