Thames Water has implemented a hosepipe ban affecting millions of customers across Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Gloucestershire. The ban, officially termed a Temporary Use Ban (TUB), will commence at midnight on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. Residents in Swindon and areas with postcodes starting with OX, GL, SN, RG4, RG8, and RG9 are urged to refrain from using hosepipes for activities such as washing cars, watering gardens, filling paddling pools, and cleaning windows.

The decision follows the driest spring in over a century and the warmest June on record in England. Nevil Muncaster, Thames Water's Strategic Water Resources Director, stated, "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."

Muncaster emphasised the need to balance water usage with environmental protection, noting, "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."

The ban does not apply to businesses where water use is essential, such as garden centres and car washes. Thames Water has also been proactive in addressing water leakages, claiming that it has reduced leakages to their lowest levels ever. The company is currently fixing around 650 leaks per week and has installed nearly 40,000 acoustic loggers to detect leaks more efficiently.

Despite these efforts, the Environment Agency has classified the Thames Valley area as being in a prolonged dry weather status, indicating a heightened risk of drought. If the warm, dry conditions persist, Thames Water anticipates that reservoir levels at the Farmoor reservoir in Oxfordshire will continue to decline.

Thames Water is urging all customers to be mindful of their water usage, encouraging practices such as turning off taps while brushing teeth and taking shorter showers. The company is also progressing plans for a new reservoir in Oxfordshire, which aims to secure water supply for 15 million people across the South East.