
No households fined for breaking hosepipe bans during recent droughts, water firms admit
Southern Water, Yorkshire Water, Thames Water and South West Water have confirmed they did not issue any fines, which can be as high as £1,000, despite having the legal power to do so for more than a decade.
All four companies have introduced hosepipe bans at different times since 2020, including the heatwaves of 2022 and 2023, which left millions under restrictions.
This year, Yorkshire Water, South East Water, and Southern Water have all imposed bans to curb non-essential use as England battles exceptionally dry weather.
Under current rules, householders who breach a ban can be fined up to £1,000 if prosecuted, and companies also have powers to issue £100 fixed penalty notices.
Despite high-profile campaigns urging households to save water, enforcement has relied entirely on public goodwill rather than financial penalties.
Campaigners have told The Independent that leaking pipes, poor planning and inaction by water companies pose a far greater threat to supplies than people watering their gardens.
James Wallace, CEO of campaign group River Action, said it was wrong to focus on 'threatening customers with £1,000 fines for watering their gardens' when water companies themselves spill billions of litres every day and face few consequences.
'Voluntary measures and public awareness aren't enough,' he warned, calling for 'real enforcement, aimed at water companies, and bold structural reform' to tackle worsening drought risks.
'No new reservoirs have been built in over 30 years, despite clear climate warnings about worsening droughts,' Mr Wallace added.
Paul de Zylva, sustainability analyst at Friends of the Earth, said that hosepipe bans are a 'sticking plaster solution to a problem that is only going to get worse'.
'Recent heatwaves only add to drought conditions, making it harder for everyone – not least hospitals, care homes, farmers and transport operators – to cope,' he added.
It comes as the government announced plans to scrap the regulator Ofwat in an overhaul of regulation for the troubled water sector.
The final report from the Independent Water Commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, made 88 recommendations to the UK and Welsh governments aimed at turning around the industry, which has faced public fury over pollution, soaring bills, shareholder payouts and executive bonuses.
The number of serious pollution incidents caused by water firms across England also rose by 60 per cent in 2024 compared with the previous year, the Environment Agency said.
Three water firms were responsible for 81 per cent of these serious incidents – Thames Water with 33, Southern Water with 15, and Yorkshire Water with 13.
It attributed the rise in incidents last year to persistent underinvestment in new infrastructure, poor asset maintenance, and reduced resilience because of the impacts of climate change.
Southern Water said that during its 2022 hosepipe ban, most customers complied voluntarily. The company said it focused on explaining the reasons for the ban and encouraging people to comply, viewing enforcement as the 'very last step'.
Yorkshire Water also confirmed no fines had been issued.
A spokesperson said: 'Whilst we do have the power to enforce the restrictions and have a process to deal with those breaching it, we would prefer not to have to use this and would hope customers would work with us and respect the restrictions, recognising it's been put in place to protect essential supplies. The response so far has been brilliant, and we've seen demand coming down.'
South West Water and Thames Water both confirmed they did not fine customers for breaching restrictions.
Nicci Russell, chief executive of water efficiency charity Waterwise, said: 'At Waterwise we are clear that the UK is running out of water, and that this will affect every aspect of our lives.'
She added that even if water companies fixed all their leaks, 'there would still be a big gap between the water we have and the water we need.'
Ms Russell said hosepipe bans remain a legitimate tool to manage demand but argued the most effective solution is for everyone to 'waste less water, now,' alongside considering whether ministers should introduce stronger legal powers over time.
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) officials said hosepipe bans typically reduce water use by around three to five per cent, helping supplies last longer and protecting the environment.
Defra encourages households to take steps to save water, such as fixing leaky toilets, installing water butts and reusing leftover water for plants.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Wales' papers: 4.8% teacher pay award rejected and hero dad risks life to save boy
Copyright 2025 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.


Times
3 hours ago
- Times
Is this a good time to buy shares in National Grid?
T his month's official report into the power cut at Heathrow airport in March made uncomfortable reading for National Grid. The company presents itself as the careful custodian of the high-voltage electricity network across England and Wales — yet the report by the National Energy System Operator gives the impression that it has been asleep on the job. The blaze in a transformer at National Grid's North Hyde substation that triggered the chaos was most likely to have been caused, Neso found, by moisture entering equipment known as a bushing, causing a short circuit and the ignition of oil within it. Moisture had been detected in oil samples in July 2018, indicating an 'imminent fault' that needed fixing — yet National Grid failed to do so for seven years. It deferred basic maintenance at the substation and failed to fix a fire suppression system that was found in 2022 to be 'inoperable'. Some 108 of National Grid's 805 transformers nationally are overdue maintenance, the report found, a proportion that's within the company's own limits but raises obvious questions about what risks may be going unaddressed.


The Sun
3 hours ago
- The Sun
Lottery results and numbers: Lotto and Thunderball draw tonight, July 23, 2025
THE NATIONAL Lottery results are in and it's time to find out who has won a life-changing amount of money tonight (July 23, 2025). Could tonight's £8.7million jackpot see you handing in your notice, jetting off to the Bahamas or driving a new Porsche off a garage forecourt? 3 3 You can find out by checking your ticket against tonight's numbers below. Good luck! Tonight's National Lottery Lotto winning numbers are: 03, 09, 11, 16, 21, 48 and the Bonus Ball is 22. Tonight's National Lottery Thunderball winning numbers are: 11, 15, 25, 27, 28 and the Thunderball is 04. The first National Lottery draw was held on November 19 1994 when seven winners shared a jackpot of £5,874,778. The largest amount ever to be won by a single ticket holder was £42million, won in 1996. Gareth Bull, a 49-year-old builder, won £41million in November, 2020 and ended up knocking down his bungalow to make way for a luxury manor house with a pool. TOP 5 BIGGEST LOTTERY WINS ACROSS THE WORLD £1.308 billion (Powerball) on January 13 2016 in the US, for which three winning tickets were sold, remains history's biggest lottery prize £1.267 billion (Mega Million) a winner from South Carolina took their time to come forward to claim their prize in March 2019 not long before the April deadline £633.76 million (Powerball draw) from a winner from Wisconsin £625.76 million (Powerball) Mavis L. Wanczyk of Chicopee, Massachusetts claimed the jackpot in August 2017 £575.53 million (Powerball) A lucky pair of winners scooped the jackpot in Iowa and New York in October 2018 Sue Davies, 64, bought a lottery ticket to celebrate ending five months of shielding during the pandemic — and won £500,000. Sandra Devine, 36, accidentally won £300k - she intended to buy her usual £100 National Lottery Scratchcard, but came home with a much bigger prize. The biggest jackpot ever to be up for grabs was £66million in January last year, which was won by two lucky ticket holders. Another winner, Karl managed to bag £11million aged just 23 in 1996. The odds of winning the lottery are estimated to be about one in 14million - BUT you've got to be in it to win it. 3