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What's happened?
Record-breaking demand for drinking water has put significant pressure on drinking water supplies, as the region grapples with a prolonged dry period and an approaching third heatwave this summer. Met Office reports indicate this spring was the driest since 1893 in our region, with dry conditions expected to persist throughout the warmer months.
The situation
The combination of heat and sunshine, coupled with very low rainfall, has created challenging conditions across much of the region for agriculture and water resources.
Demand for water has increased to the highest levels we have ever seen for this time of year, reaching 680 million litres on 30 June 2025. This is 105 million litres of water a day more than the average for summer. On days like this, we’re pumping enough water to supply an additional four towns the size of Maidstone or Eastbourne.
Stocks of raw water, the water that we store, treat and pump to taps, in both our groundwater and surface reservoirs are now falling more quickly and earlier than normal.
What have we been doing?
In preparation for this summer, we have increased the number of storage tanks for clean water and replaced valves, flow meters and installed new pipes so we can move water around more easily.
We're aware there are a number of leaks on the network, we're working hard to fix these, and are prioritising the most urgent leaks. In the last year we've found and fixed over 18,000 leaks on our network and a further 6,000 customer side leaks. This is more than 12 per cent than in the previous year.
Hot weather causes the ground to crack so pipes move and burst causing leaks. We have increased our efforts this summer, and we have more gangs finding and fixing leaks than ever before.
We have asked our customers to only use water for essential purposes, and we would like to thank all who have taken steps to try and reduce overall water use. Unfortunately, it has not been enough to reduce demand to a typical level.
What this means for you and your communities
This means we have been left with no choice but to restrict the use of hosepipes and sprinklers in Kent and Sussex until further notice - this is also referred to as a Temporary Use Ban or TUBs.
We are taking this action to ensure we have enough water for both essential uses and to protect the environment.
All domestic household customers, unless exempt, are not authorised to use a hosepipe or sprinkler at their homes. If customers are exempt, they will receive an email or letter to confirm this.
These restrictions will be reviewed every seven days to determine when we can remove them.
I am sure you will understand this decision has not been taken lightly.
How you can help
We're undertaking a widespread campaign to notify all our customers, however I would be grateful if you could share this information amongst your communities too.
You can also keep up with the latest on the situation using the links below:
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