Over-65s and Priority Services customers in Crowborough lost hosepipe exemptions on 9 October. Ardingly was 19.4% full; the water boss apologised on 23 October.
Almost nobody in Crowborough can now use a hosepipe on mains water. South East Water removed nearly every exemption from its Sussex hosepipe ban at 00:01 on Friday 9 October.
Updated 28 October: South East Water’s chief executive apologised for supply problems at the MP’s public meeting in Heathfield on 23 October. What he said is below. No decision on the drought order has been published.
The change covers the company’s whole Sussex supply area. Its map of that area shows Crowborough in Resource Zone 2, alongside Uckfield and Groombridge, with Heathfield and Hailsham in Resource Zone 3. (South East Water, notice removing exemptions)
Six days later, on 15 October, the Environment Agency declared severe drought in parts of Sussex. (South East Water, Sussex hosepipe restrictions FAQs)
Who has lost their exemption
The ban itself started on 25 July and lists eleven banned uses, from watering the garden to cleaning the patio. Until 9 October several groups were let off. They no longer are:
- people over 65, or anyone else relying on an age-based exemption
- customers on the Priority Services Register, which no longer exempts anyone on its own
- anyone with new turf, which can no longer be watered with a hosepipe
- businesses that clean cars, taxis, goods vehicles, windows, walls, paths or patios with a hosepipe
The company says a hosepipe is still allowed only where it is needed for health, safety or welfare, for people or animals. Hosepipes fed from a water butt, drip irrigation on a timer, sports pitches outside peak hours and commercial growers are also still allowed. Watering cans and buckets from the tap are fine.
Breaking the ban carries a fine of up to £1,000. The full list is on our Crowborough hosepipe ban page, which has been updated.
Why it has got worse
South East Water gives these figures for its Sussex area:
- Ardingly Reservoir was 19.4% full on 11 October, lower than at the same point last year
- Sussex had just over 56% of its expected rainfall between March and August
- it repaired 893 leaks in the region between April and August
- it has increased its Sussex leak repair crews from 14 to 21
It says a new pipeline bringing treated water from Bewl, in Kent, into East Sussex saves up to 4 million litres a day from Ardingly. It is also restarting a treatment plant for another 1.9 million litres a day. (South East Water, Sussex hosepipe restrictions FAQs)
Severe drought is the third of the Environment Agency’s four drought stages. The company says the declaration brings in no new restrictions by itself.
A wider ban could follow
South East Water has also applied to the government for a drought order across its Sussex region. Its notice is dated 9 October and objections closed on 16 October. (South East Water, notice of application for a drought order)
If the order is granted and used, it would extend restrictions to non-household water use, including:
- watering outdoor plants on commercial premises
- filling non-domestic swimming pools, including hotel and private club pools
- mechanical car and truck washes
- cleaning business premises, their windows and industrial plant
- suppressing dust with a hosepipe
The company says it would publish a further notice with dates before anything took effect.
What the chief executive said in Heathfield
South East Water’s chief executive, John Halsall, apologised for supply problems at a public meeting in Heathfield on Friday 23 October. Heathfield is about eight miles south of Crowborough. The meeting was hosted by Nusrat Ghani, MP for Sussex Weald, which includes Crowborough. (Nus Ghani, I secure apology from water boss at public meeting)
According to the MP’s account:
- more than 80 people attended at Heathfield Community Centre
- Mr Halsall said: “historically as a business we have not been very good. We understand that every problem is a failure.”
- asked about new housing, he said the company is not a statutory consultee on planning applications, but is working with the 29 planning authorities in its region to make sure there is enough headroom for the government’s housing targets
- questions covered drought preparedness, leaks and reservoirs, with speakers from Hellingly, Wadhurst and Warbleton parishes
- the Mayor of Crowborough and the chair of Heathfield Chamber of Commerce were among those who spoke
The MP’s write-up does not record any new commitment from the company on the drought, the hosepipe ban or the drought order. South East Water had published nothing about the meeting on its own news page by 28 October. Mr Halsall was appointed chief executive on 23 July 2026, according to the company. (South East Water, our people)
The MP is still collecting reports of supply problems through her South East Water page.
What it means for you
- If you are over 65 or on the Priority Services Register, you can no longer use a hosepipe in the garden. Only a genuine health, safety or welfare need counts.
- If you paid someone to wash the car or the windows, they can still do it with a bucket, but not a hosepipe.
- A water butt is still your way round it. You can use a hosepipe from one, but you cannot fill it from the mains.
- There is no end date. The company says the restrictions stay until it is confident supplies have recovered, and that it will announce the end in newspapers, by email and on its website.
- Supply problems? Report them to South East Water first; the MP’s page also collects them.
Have your say