Southern Water imposes hosepipe ban in Hampshire and Isle of Wight

Southern Water will switch on a Temporary Use Ban at 00:01am on Friday 10 July across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, affecting its customers in those areas only while Sussex stays outside the restriction. The move follows river levels that are 25% lower than expected for the time of year, with the River Test losing a third of its water in the past month.

The ban is being used to protect the River Test and River Itchen, two internationally important chalk streams that supply most of the drinking water for customers in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight. The restrictions come after the driest spring in more than a century. The aim is to ease pressure on local water resources and the environment, not just to stop people watering lawns. Customers with medical needs may still need to use a hosepipe.

Southern Water imposed a similar ban across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in July 2025 after the driest spring in more than 100 years and the hottest June on record. The restriction covered about 336,000 properties in Hampshire and 75,000 on the Isle of Wight. That ban lasted more than three months before wet weather in September and October allowed it to be lifted.

Customers helped save millions of litres of water every day during the 2025 restrictions, and leakage teams later found and fixed about 1,700 leaks, saving more than 17 million litres of water. Tim McMahon, Southern Water’s managing director, apologised to affected customers during the earlier ban. The company had to respond to widespread and prolonged dry weather. After the ban was lifted, he thanked customers for their understanding.

Its plans include the UK’s first new reservoir in more than 30 years at Havant Thicket, water recycling projects and transfers with neighbouring companies, with the goal of reducing how much it takes from the two rivers by 2040. Southern Water’s director of water operations, Tania Flasck, urged customers to start using water more carefully before the formal ban begins.

Paul Vignaux of the Test and Itchen Association warned that “a precious chalk stream is at the other end of their tap.”