Hosepipe restrictions come into effect in Yorkshire

Yorkshire Water introduced temporary restrictions on hosepipe use across Yorkshire from 11 July 2025, the company announced on 8 July¹. The Environment Agency had officially declared a drought in Yorkshire in June, and the company said the region had seen only 15cm of rainfall between February and June, less than half what is expected in an average year¹.

The company said Yorkshire's reservoirs stood at 55.8% at the time of the announcement, 26.1% lower than normal for the time of year, and that it had supplied an additional 4.3 billion litres of water between April and June compared with a typical year, enough to supply the city of Leeds for five weeks¹. It said the restrictions would stay in place until significant rainfall brought reservoirs and groundwater stocks back to where they need to be, and that this might last into the winter months¹.

The activities not permitted while the restrictions were in place included using a hosepipe to water a garden, clean private vehicles or boats, water plants on domestic or other non-commercial premises, fill or maintain a domestic swimming or paddling pool, hot tub or cold-water plunge pool, fill or maintain a domestic pond or ornamental fountain, clean the walls or windows of domestic premises, and clean paths, patios or other artificial outdoor surfaces¹. The company said people could still wash their car and water their gardens without a hosepipe using tap water from a bucket or watering can, or water not sourced from taps such as grey water, rainwater from a water butt or a private borehole, and that businesses could use a hosepipe where it was directly related to a commercial purpose¹. Blue badge holders, those on Yorkshire Water's Priority Services Register and those on the WaterSure tariff for medical reasons were excluded from the restrictions¹.

The charity Waterwise launched a national summer campaign, Come Rain or Shine: A Water-Smart Summer, on the same date, running throughout July and August with free downloadable activities for families, children and educators, including rainwater harvesting guides and leaky loo checks². Yorkshire Water sponsored the campaign; its brand and marketing manager, Chelsea McGrory, said the drought declaration and the hosepipe restrictions underlined "just how vital it is that we all use water wisely"².

Why it matters for households

From 11 July 2025, households across Yorkshire were affected by the restrictions, which covered garden watering, car washing, pools, ponds and the cleaning of outdoor surfaces by hosepipe¹. The company's own guidance set out the exemptions for blue badge holders, Priority Services Register customers and WaterSure customers with medical needs, and the alternatives using buckets, watering cans, grey water, rainwater or a private borehole¹. The company said the restrictions were intended to make sure there was enough supply for the essential needs of people across the region "this year and next", as well as to protect the local environment¹. It also said having restrictions in place allowed it to apply for drought permits from the Environment Agency to abstract more water from rivers and reduce compensation flows out of reservoirs¹. Households wanting to prepare for a restriction can use the water shortage and hosepipe ban checklist, and the guide to watering the garden, allotment and new lawn in a hosepipe ban sets out the alternatives; both sit within the heatwaves and drought section.

What happens next

Yorkshire Water said the restrictions would be lifted as soon as it was able, and that it would keep customers updated on water resources over the coming weeks and months¹. The company said it had added 100 people to its leakage team in 2025, was investing £406m to replace more than 1,000km of water mains, was exchanging 1.3 million smart meters to help detect leaks, and had borehole projects under way at Brayton and East Ness to bring new sources of raw water into supply¹.