Kent and Sussex hosepipe ban announced from 26 June
A hosepipe and sprinkler ban is being imposed on people in Kent and Sussex.
South East Water said it had no choice after demand for drinking water had reached “record levels” in June, similar to last year’s drought.
Kent and Sussex hosepipe ban announced from 26 June
Some households in Kent and Sussex have been without water since Monday due to supply issues.
Earlier this week, the water company urged people to only use water for essential purposes. It will impose the ban on hosepipes from 26 June.
The measures mean that using hosepipes and sprinklers to water gardens, clean cars and fill swimming pools will not be allowed, and rule-breakers could be hit with a £1,000 fine.
Areas including Wadhurst, Mayfield, Biddenden and Staplehurst have been affected by water outages, while a burst pipe in Tunbridge Wells was repaired on Thursday.
South East Water said its facilities are working at full output, with every water treatment work and water source available producing treated water to keep up with demand.
Despite this, the company said it was unable to return drinking water storage tanks to “satisfactory levels”.
The firm said the demand for water has broken all previous records, including during the Covid lockdown heatwave periods.
It said it had produced an additional 120 million litres of water a day – equivalent to supplying four towns the size of Maidstone or Eastbourne.
The company serves 2.3 million people across Hampshire, Berkshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent.
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