London & the Thames Valley
Thames Water hosepipe ban: what you can and can't do
London, the Thames Valley, Swindon, Oxford, Reading, Slough, Guildford and surrounding areas — the single largest water company in the UK by customers served.
What Thames Water’s bans usually cover
Thames Water has imposed hosepipe bans across London and the South East during drought summers. Bans typically cover garden hoses, sprinklers and unattended watering systems.
Is drip irrigation allowed during a Thames Water ban?
Permitted watering during Thames Water restrictions generally includes watering-can use and, in most notices, automated drip and soaker irrigation that feeds the root zone directly. Because a dripline sits at the soil surface or under mulch, very little water is wasted, which is why it is treated differently from a sprinkler. Confirm against the live notice.
The low-water way to water anyway
However the notice is worded this year, the pattern is the same: restricted tools are the wasteful ones. A dripline that sits at the roots keeps beds healthy on a fraction of the water — which is why it is treated differently from a sprinkler.
- Feed roots, not the air — almost nothing evaporates
- Exempt in most UK notices, where hoses are banned
- Pipe pre-cut to length — no cutting, no tools
- Runs on a tap computer, hands-free all summer
How to find out the current status
Visit Thames Water's current restrictions page and sign up for their updates to get a direct alert the moment a ban is announced for your area.
This page explains the general rules and is not an official restrictions notice. Always confirm against Thames Water’s live notice before watering.
See how every UK region handles bans on our full hosepipe ban guide.