How are South East Water hosepipe ban rules changing in Sussex?

How is the hosepipe ban changing in Sussex? Image source, Ben Leete/BBC Image caption, South East Water says the falling level at Ardingly Reservoir has triggered the next step of the company's drought plan By Craig Buchan South East Published 2 hours ago An expanded hosepipe ban has come into force for South East Water customers across Sussex. The supplier first introduced restrictions to the area in July. Multiple exemptions to the ban have been removed - effective from 9 October - while an application for restrictions affecting businesses remains pending. Who is affected? The households affected by the change are South East Water customers in Sussex , external . This includes Burgess Hill, Crowborough, Battle and Eastbourne. Other South East Water customers in Kent, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire are also subject to a hosepipe ban, but exemptions are still in place in these areas. What is changing? Restrictions have prohibited using a hose for purposes including watering your garden, washing a vehicle or filling a paddling pool since July, but with some exemptions. Now the only exemptions are for health and safety reasons or for animal welfare. Vulnerable people on the company's Priority Services Register were previously exempt from the rules, but are now also banned. Image source, Reuters Image caption, Ardingly Reservoir is at its lowest level of the last 12 months, South East Water says Businesses that used a hosepipe to serve domestic customers, such as window cleaners, gardeners, jet washers or taxi drivers cleaning their cars, were previously exempt. They are now no longer allowed to use a hosepipe, apart from for health and safety reasons, and have been encouraged to use buckets, watering cans, collected rainwater or other alternatives. Activities like commercial farming or garden centres are not classed as "domestic" and so do not fall under the hosepipe ban. South East Water has applied to restrict some other commercial uses of water, such as cleaning windows at commercial premises, but this is not yet confirmed. Why are changes needed? The water level at Ardingly Reservoir, which serves 280,000 South East Water customers in Sussex, was reported to be at 20% of its capacity , external as of 4 October. This has triggered the next stage of the company's drought plan, which begins action to protect supplies, including these rule changes. Other action includes returning less water to local rivers. The Environment Agency has granted a special permit for this. Why is there less water? South East Water has attributed low reservoir levels to record-breaking dry weather conditions in recent months, which reduced river flows. Hot weather over the summer will also have increased demand for water. The company says it needs more rainfall to restore reservoir levels. South East Water has also struggled to manage leaks in its network. Higher than usual numbers of leaks have been attributed to the weather conditions causing the soil to dry out and pipes to shift, increasing the chance of bursts. According to the company's latest annual report it missed its leakage target, which looks at a three-year rolling average of water leaked. Data from watchdog Ofwat for 2025-26 shows the company loses more than 100 million litres per day on average across its coverage areas. South East Water says it provides 550 million litres of water every day on average. When will restrictions be lifted? South East Water has not confirmed when the restrictions will next change. The company told customers the ban would continue until it was "confident that water resources have recovered" but that it would be kept "under constant review". Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook , external , on X , external , and on Instagram , external and listen to BBC Radio Sussex on Sounds . Send your story ideas to [email protected] , external or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. More on this story Hosepipe ban extended to vulnerable across Sussex Published 6 days ago South East Water hosepipe ban to affect 2.4 million people Published 20 July Related internet links South East Water