Hosepipe Ban in Bournemouth? No, but Much of Poole Has One

Is there a hosepipe ban in Bournemouth?

No. Checked again on 24 September 2026, Bournemouth Water’s own website still says it “does not have a hosepipe ban in place”, and that it will “continue to monitor the situation closely”. Bournemouth Water supplies Bournemouth, Christchurch and part of Poole. If you are not sure which company supplies your tap, use the postcode checker described below.

Wessex Water said on 9 September that daily water use had fallen significantly since the ban began, but that only 61% of the expected rainfall had fallen across its region in the previous six months, and it is still watching reservoirs, groundwater and river flows before deciding when to lift it (Bath Echo, 9 September 2026).

Is there a hosepipe ban in Poole?

Yes in most of Poole, no in the rest of it, and the split is by supplier rather than by address. Checked on 24 September 2026, Wessex Water’s hosepipe ban page still carries the heading “Hosepipe ban is now in place”, and Wessex Water supplies the larger share of the town. Homes it supplies have been under the ban since 00:01 on Tuesday 18 August 2026. In our sampled postcodes that covered Poole Town, Hamworthy, Parkstone, Newtown and Heatherlands, Canford Heath, Creekmoor and Upton.

The rest of Poole is on Bournemouth Water, which has no ban. Branksome and Canford Cliffs both came back as Bournemouth Water in our sample, so a Poole address is not on its own an answer either way.

Three practical points if you live in Poole:

• There is still no end date. Wessex Water’s notice runs until further notification and the company has set no date for lifting it. The page has not been revised since its 18 August update.
• Sewerage is not supply. Wessex Water handles sewerage across the whole conurbation, including for Bournemouth Water’s customers, who get two bills. A Wessex Water bill on the doormat does not put you inside the ban.
• The boundary is finer than a postcode sector. BH13 7 and BH14 9 each returned both answers when we tested them, so check your own full postcode rather than your street or your neighbour’s.

Neither company has changed its position between our 20 August, 15 September and 24 September checks.

How the ban splits Bournemouth and Poole

The hosepipe ban that came into force on Tuesday 18 August runs straight through this conurbation, and which side of it you are on has nothing to do with which town you live in.

Wessex Water introduced a temporary use ban at 00:01 on 18 August 2026, its first water restriction in 50 years. It applies to every customer the company supplies with water. A large part of Poole is in that group. Bournemouth, Christchurch and a slice of the Poole side are not: they are supplied by Bournemouth Water, which still said on its own site on 24 September that it “does not have a hosepipe ban in place”.

BCP Council referred to “a regional hosepipe ban still in place” on Wednesday when it cancelled this week’s firework displays. That is accurate for the region. It is not accurate for most homes in Bournemouth.

Which areas are covered

We put individual postcodes from across Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch through Wessex Water’s own postcode checker on 20 August. These were the answers it returned.

The important thing that table does not show is how fine the boundary is. It does not follow a town, a ward or even a postcode district. Two examples from the same sample:

• In BH13 7, BH13 7AA and BH13 7AT came back as Wessex Water with the ban applying. BH13 7BN and BH13 7DF, in the same postcode sector, came back as Bournemouth Water with no ban.
• In BH14 9, all four postcodes tested sit in Penn Hill ward. BH14 9AA came back as Bournemouth Water. BH14 9AS, BH14 9BQ and BH14 9EA came back as Wessex Water.

So do not go by your neighbourhood, and certainly do not go by what a neighbour a few streets away has been told. Put your full postcode into Wessex Water’s checker and take the answer it gives.

Why so many people think they are covered

Because a great many households here already pay Wessex Water, just not for water.

Wessex Water provides sewerage across this area. Its own customer FAQ puts it plainly: “If you receive your water supply from Bournemouth Water or Cholderton and District Water and we provide your sewerage services, you will receive two separate bills.” So a Bournemouth household can hold a Wessex Water bill, read that Wessex Water has banned hosepipes, and reasonably conclude the ban is theirs. It is not. The ban attaches to the water supply, not the sewerage service.

There is a third company in the picture as well. South West Water brought in its own ban at 00:01 on 8 August, covering, in the words of its statutory notice, “Devon, Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly, and parts of Dorset and Somerset”. That is the ban that has been in the news longest. It does not reach Bournemouth Water customers either.

What the ban actually stops

If your postcode came back as Wessex Water, you must not use a hosepipe, sprinkler, dripper hose or automatic irrigation system for any of these:

• watering a garden
• cleaning a private motor vehicle
• watering plants on domestic or other non-commercial premises
• cleaning a private leisure boat
• filling or maintaining a domestic swimming pool or paddling pool
• drawing water for domestic recreational use, including water slides
• filling or maintaining a domestic pond
• filling or maintaining an ornamental fountain
• cleaning walls or windows of domestic premises
• cleaning paths, patios or other artificial outdoor surfaces

Breaking the ban is an offence carrying a fine of up to £1,000 on summary conviction.

What you can still do is more generous than most people assume. Everyday household use, showering and washing, is untouched. You can water plants from a watering can, wash a car from a bucket, and use rainwater from a water butt or grey water through a hosepipe, because the restriction applies to mains water. The two exceptions to the bucket rule are swimming or paddling pools and ornamental fountains, which you cannot fill by any of these means. Wessex Water also allows discretionary exemptions for customers with additional medical or mobility needs, and takes representations at hosepipe.ban@wessexwater.co.uk.

What it means for you

• Check your own postcode, not your town. The boundary runs at street level in Poole.
• If you are on Bournemouth Water, nothing has changed legally, but the company is asking customers to save water and says it is monitoring the position. A ban later in the year is not ruled out.
• If you are on Wessex Water, the ban runs “until further notification”. No end date has been set.
• A Wessex Water bill does not mean you are covered. Check whether that bill is for sewerage or for water supply.
• Report a leak rather than a neighbour. Wessex Water says all available resources are going into leak repairs and that it found and fixed a third more leaks in July than usual.

The same dry weather sits behind the council’s decision to call off this week’s fireworks, which we cover in Bournemouth fireworks cancelled. If the ban is changing what you had planned outdoors, things to do in Bournemouth lists what is on, and our roadworks and travel page carries the closures running across the district this week.

Frequently asked questions about the hosepipe ban in Bournemouth and Poole

Has Bournemouth Water got a hosepipe ban?

No. As of 24 September 2026 Bournemouth Water says it does not have a hosepipe ban in place. It is asking customers to save water and says any change will be communicated to customers.

Is there a hosepipe ban in Poole?

In much of Poole, yes, and it was still in force when we checked on 24 September 2026. Homes supplied by Wessex Water, including sampled postcodes in Poole Town, Hamworthy, Parkstone, Canford Heath, Creekmoor and Upton, have been under a hosepipe ban since 00:01 on 18 August 2026. Parts of Poole supplied by Bournemouth Water, such as the sampled Branksome and Canford Cliffs postcodes, are not.

When will the Wessex Water hosepipe ban end?

No end date has been set. The ban runs until further notice, and on 9 September Wessex Water said it was still monitoring reservoir levels, groundwater and river flows before deciding when restrictions can be lifted.

I pay Wessex Water. Does the ban apply to me?

Only if Wessex Water supplies your water. Many Bournemouth Water customers pay Wessex Water for sewerage and get two bills, and the ban does not apply to them.

What is the fine for breaking a hosepipe ban?

Up to £1,000 on summary conviction, under Wessex Water’s statutory notice.

Sources

• Bath Echo, Wessex Water thanks customers as region’s hosepipe ban continues, 9 September 2026 for the 61% rainfall figure and the company’s position on lifting the ban.
• Wessex Water, hosepipe ban, still showing the ban in place on 24 September 2026, under the heading “Hosepipe ban is now in place” and dated “Updated: 18 August 2026”, for the 18 August start, the restricted uses, the exemptions and the leak repair figures, and for the postcode checker results quoted above.
• Wessex Water, statutory notice for temporary ban on water use for the legal basis, the full list of prohibited uses, the representations address and the £1,000 maximum fine.
• Wessex Water FAQ, why am I paying two water companies for the separate water supply and sewerage billing.
• Bournemouth Water for its statement that it does not have a hosepipe ban in place, checked 20 August, 15 September and again 24 September 2026.
• South West Water, temporary ban on water use notice, August 2026 for the 8 August start and the area covered.
• BCP Council, firework displays at Poole Quay and Bournemouth beach cancelled, 19 August 2026 for the council’s reference to a regional hosepipe ban.