South East Water hosepipe ban still in place despite floods

The ban by South East Water came into force in August, when parts of Sussex sweltered in 37C heat and wildfires broke out.

However, parts of the county have since had widespread flooding after weeks of torrential rain.

The hosepipe ban covers South East Water customers in Alfriston, Barcombe Mills and Haywards Heath. all places that have had flooding over the past few weeks.

A statement on South East Water’s website cited high demand for water during the summer, coupled with the driest eight-month stint since 1976 between November 2021 and July 2022.

Barcombe Mills Road in Barcombe was swamped with floodwater earlier this month (Image: Sussex News and Pictures)

It said: “We have been left with no choice but to restrict the use of hosepipes and sprinklers within our Kent and Sussex supply area until further notice.

“This will enable us to also reduce the amount of water we need to take from already stressed local water sources.”

Lee Dance, head of water resources at South East Water, said that some aquifers and reservoirs fell to very low levels during the summer and a significant improvement in water levels would be needed before the ban could be lifted.

He said: “Although we are receiving some much-welcome rain and while rainfall does naturally help top up our reservoirs, we also need to see a vast improvement in groundwater levels and be confident we will receive a healthy amount of winter rainfall before we can remove the hosepipe ban. These measures are being tracked and reviewed weekly.

“The hosepipe ban was brought in after water levels in some of our reservoirs and underground aquifers fell very low due to the dry, hot summer which led to record-breaking high demand for water.”

South East Water customers could be able to use their hosepipes again 'soon' (Image: PA)

Mr Dance said the water company hopes to remove the hosepipe ban for its Sussex customers “soon”.

Scattered showers will continue to affect southern areas today, with widespread cloud for the rest of the week.