Thames Water announce temporary hosepipe ban amid soaring temperatures
They've announced the news, which is set to impact Swindon, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire a week from tomorrow (22 July)
Last updated 14th Jul 2025
A temporary hosepipe ban has been imposed by Thames Water amid the soaring temperatures, which are set to continue.
They've announced the news, which is set to impact Swindon, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire a week from tomorrow - on Tuesday 22 July 2025.
It's coming in across the Thames Valley region which includes areas with a postcode starting with OX, GL, SN and RG4, RG8 and RG9
This all comes after the driest spring in over a century and England’s warmest June on record, with Environment Agency placing the Thames Area into the 'Prolonged Dry Weather category'.
Thames Water say their drought plan is designed to mitigate the risk of further impact to water supplies and ensure the taps keep running for customers’ essential use while also protecting the environment.
Customers will be asked not to use hosepipes, including for cleaning cars, watering gardens or allotments, filling paddling pools and swimming pools or cleaning windows.
While it does not impact businesses where water use is a core part of their purpose, nor will it currently impact the London area, Thames Water is asking everyone across the region it serves to be mindful of their water use.
2022 drought levels of daily demand
Across the Swindon and Oxfordshire areas, the company has seen customers’ daily demand for water reach levels last seen during the 2022 drought.
Company data shows customers often use up to 30% more water on hot days (temperatures above 25 degrees).
Water abstracted from the River Thames for this area is stored at Farmoor reservoir in Oxfordshire.
If as is expected, the warm, dry weather continues the company anticipates that reservoir levels at Farmoor will continue to drop.
Further, river levels are below average for the time of year, which limits how much water can be sourced from the River Thames to top up the reservoir. In the Cotswolds, aquifers which feed the River Thames are fast draining and the prolonged low rainfall also limits how quickly they can be refilled, further restricting how much water the company can source for reservoir storage.
The hot weather also means more water is lost through evaporation from surface water bodies such as rivers and lakes. Carefully managing the amount of water Thames Water takes from rivers can help protect aquatic animals and invertebrates as well as local wildlife.
A 'challenging spring and summer'
Nevil Muncaster, Strategic Water Resources Director at Thames Water said: “This has been a challenging spring and summer with big spikes in customer demand during hot dry days and very little rainfall to replenish local supplies in the Thames Valley.
“Given the continued warm, dry weather we do not anticipate that the situation will improve any time soon so we have to take action now. Every drop of water we use comes from the environment and we have to balance protecting this while taking out the water needed to top-up reservoir levels.
“That is why we have had to make to the difficult decision to implement a hosepipe ban to make sure there’s enough water for customers’ essential needs and to protect rivers.
“While this TUB will only affect customers in certain areas, I want to thank all our customers for their understanding and for their support so far to reduce their water use. This includes turning the taps off while brushing teeth, taking shorter showers and letting your lawn go dry.”
Resilience
Bosses say that leakage is at its lowest ever level on the Thames Water network, with the firm confirming it is fixing 650 leaks a week with its engineers targeting leaks with the greatest impact to local water supplies.
Thames Water say they are also implementing innovative technology and data to find and fix leaks faster.
So far it has installed almost 40,000 acoustic loggers on its water network to help detect leaks and expects to have 100,000 in place by mid-2027.
Thames Water say plans are currently progressing for a proposed reservoir in Oxfordshire, which will be crucial in securing water supply for 15 million people across the South East, including Thames Water, Affinity Water and Southern Water customers.
The company is also progressing plans for a vital drought resilience project in London which will be supported by water recycling.
For more information about the TUB including further details on restrictions and customer exemptions please visit the Thames Water website.