The VERY leaky loopholes in Britain's hosepipe bans... from opening your garden to the public or declaring your fountain spiritually significant to claiming you have ADHD

By CHRISTOPHER STEVENS, TV CRITIC Published: 01:00, 20 July 2026 | Updated: 01:21, 20 July 2026 Torrential wasn’t the word for it. For the first three months of this year, across much of the country, it never stopped raining. Parts of Britain, including Cornwall and the West Midlands, recorded more rain than in any winter since records began 190 years ago. Rainfall in the south of England was 58 per cent heavier than average. Despite this, since the latest heatwave began last month, five water authorities have now imposed hosepipe bans. More are expected. More than 11million customers of Southern, South East, Cambridge and Anglian Water, as well as Affinity Water in the Home Counties, have been ordered not to use hosepipes, with threatened fines of up to £1,000. Another 21million people are likely to face restrictions. And vast numbers are furious as water bosses have meanwhile awarded themselves £112million in bonuses and incentive payments over the past decade. But there are all sorts of ways to sidestep a ban on using hoses, while remaining within the law. Of course, the Daily Mail would never endorse deliberate rule-breaking, even though the threatened fines for hosepipe flouters are not enforced: in the past 35 years, since the Water Industry Act was introduced in 1991, no company has actually imposed a fine. But it’s perfectly possible to continue using a hosepipe even at the height of a ‘temporary use ban’ because there are many exemptions. And just like the leaky water pipelines (which waste three billion litres a day, or 20 per cent of the country’s total supply) there are lots of holes. Anyone can be legitimately exempted from the ban, for a wide variety of health reasons. A Blue Badge, issued to disabled drivers, automatically qualifies the holder to keep using a hosepipe freely. And Anglian Water, among others, allows customers to write their own sicknote. They maintain a Priority Service Register, open to all. There are all sorts of ways to sidestep a ban on using hoses, while remaining within the law Explaining their policy, Anglian say: ‘If you’re unable to make reasonable adjustments because of a health condition, disability or additional support need, you may be covered by an exception.’ A long list follows, covering some of the recognised exemptions: ‘A serious or long-term health condition; Dementia; A developmental condition; Dialysis treatment; A physical impairment; Restricted hand movement; A visual impairment; A temporary condition following a hospital stay; Additional support needs that make it difficult to make reasonable adjustments.’ They add: ‘If any of the above apply to you, you are automatically exempt. You do not need to apply for this or to let us know.’ Some of those exemptions cover very serious health problems. Others are more nebulous. The NHS classes both dyslexia and ADHD as ‘developmental conditions’, for instance. As for ‘a visual impairment’, this could arguably cover short-sightedness. If you are going to self-identify as a special case, you might need a thick skin. One contributor on the online MumsNet community complained at the weekend: ‘My NDN [next-door neighbour] has just demanded to see proof that we are exempt from the local hosepipe ban! I have said to them I won’t be showing them anything as it’s private but they can report me if they want and the water company can check. ‘We literally have just been filling a small paddling pool daily for the dc [darling children] for after school and today have a little sprinkler toy as it’s boiling. I’m so shocked they demanded proof!’ The responses to this indignant post last Saturday were varied: some reckoned the neighbours were busybodies and best ignored, others felt we should all ‘obey the spirit of the law’. It’s fine to run a hose from the bottom of a waterbutt, to recycle rainwater. You can also reuse bathwater, sometimes called ‘greywater harvesting’ and transfer it with a watering can or bowls – though the chemicals in soap and shampoo might harm plants. You could also consider placing a bucket under your shower while it warms up to catch water for reuse in the garden. Useful exceptions apply in the garden. Food is regarded as more important than inedible plants, so companies won’t protest if allotments or home gardens need a hose for their vegetables, especially if the size of the plot makes a watering can impractical. A fixed irrigation system, one that sprays water from holes in a pipe, is also permitted. It might seem strange that a handheld hosepipe is banned, while one that doesn’t move is allowed, but that’s all in the rules. However, gardeners employing this system are expected to confine use to off-peak hours (usually the middle of the day), and to fit a pressure-reducing valve that slows the flow. There is no limit to the number of times you can fill up the watering can to ensure flowerbeds don’t bake dry. And you can even use a hosepipe on young trees, saplings, whips and hedging planted within the past three years. New lawns, too, can be watered with a hose sprinkler for 28 days after being laid. This is to help the grass seedlings bed in and take root. Builders are able to use the hose to mix cement but not to wash down walls and paving stones. Professional cleaning companies are allowed to wash down paths and patios, providing this is done for health and safety reasons. Paddling pools can still be topped up by buckets and swimming pools by a hosepipe but only if they are being filled for the first time following construction. Using a bucket to wash the car is also allowed. Commercial car washes are not affected either, so it’s all right to pay for a pressure wash and wax. SINKING FEELINGSad news for boat lovers: cleaning your tub with a hosepipe is banned in most affected areas. The exception is enclosed spaces on your private leisure boat – a handy loophole if you need to clean the indoor spaces, cabins or engine rooms – but no hosing down the decks. If you own a motorhome, you’re allowed to use a hose to top up the water tank, to ensure you have enough for flushing the toilet, filling a sink and so on. Washing the vehicle with a hose is not allowed, though. If you have your own private water supply, you can legally extract up to 20 tons a day. That’s roughly 5,000 gallons. The drawback is you’ll have to locate the source first and then probably sink a borehole. One surprisingly effective way to find underground water is to do as people have done for thousands of years and dowse for it. Clip two lengths of wire from old coathangers and bend them into L-shaped rods. Loosely holding one in each hand, parallel to each other like pretend ray-guns, walk up and down the garden. If you go over running water, the rods will twitch in your hands and cross over at the tips. It’s even worked for people who think it’s nonsense! Once you’ve found the water, you’ll have to dig for it. Psychics gifts won’t be much use here. You’ll need a spade. Gardens that are open to the public are allowed to use as much water as needed to keep blooming. This includes sprinklers and hosepipes. There’s nothing to stop you from proclaiming your pocket handkerchief of lawn to be a national treasure and welcoming visitors – though don’t start charging for tickets. That’ll get you in all sorts of trouble with the council. Perhaps most importantly of all, hoses can be used to keep animals safe, clean and healthy. This means water troughs and other drinking containers can be filled and pets can be hosed down to help them keep cool – or to keep them clean. This includes sluicing out pens and stables with a hose. The rules also allow for fishponds to be topped up with hoses. Some ponds use fountains to keep the water oxygenated and this is also permitted. However, merely ornamental fountains need to be switched off. Here, as in so many other cases, there’s a crafty workaround. Fountains may be kept splashing if they have a religious or spiritual significance. You can be quite sure no one from the water company is going to challenge that.