Watering during a hosepipe ban
A Temporary Use Ban restricts watering with a hosepipe or anything connected to the mains, but it does not normally stop you from caring for a garden — watering cans, buckets and stored rainwater stay allowed.
What stays allowed
Most notices still allow watering with a watering can or bucket, using stored rainwater from a water butt, and watering where health, safety or animal welfare requires it. Some suppliers allow watering of newly planted turf, trees or beds within a limited window, and some exemptions can be registered.
- watering can or bucket, not a hosepipe
- stored rainwater from a water butt
- registered exemptions for some new planting and commercial crops
- the exact rules are in your supplier’s notice
Keep your garden resilient through the ban
Reduce demand before a ban starts: mulch beds, group pots in shade, leave lawns longer, and water deeply only where it matters. Otter’s watering guidance uses forecast rain to help you decide when the small amount of manual watering you are allowed is actually needed.
Check the official restriction for your area. A Temporary Use Ban can change what you are allowed to do with a hosepipe, whatever this guidance says. Check your postcode.