Despite one of the wettest Januarys since records began, parts of Kent still remain under a hosepipe ban.
South East Water (SEW) announced a temporary use or hosepipe ban for its customers in July last year after the driest spring since 1893.
In October Ardingly reservoir, in West Sussex, dropped to under a quarter full and some exemptions from the hosepipe ban were withdrawn in areas around Haywards Heath and Eastbourne.
After January’s rainfall Ardingly reservoir in West Sussex is now full after being under a quarter full in October 2025. Nick Price, SEW’s head of water resources, says the company will only remove restrictions when it is “confident” that “water resources will recover”. Last month, as Ardingly reservoir filled, the EA moved the area out of “drought” and into “recovery” status.
The start to 2026 saw parts of the South East receive nearly 200% of the average rainfall for the month, with Kent breaking into the top 10 list of wettest Januarys in 190 years.
Kieran Mullan, MP for Bexhill and Battle, has now written to South East Water asking the water company to “take immediate steps” to review the hosepipe ban and Mid Sussex MP, Alison Bennett, has launched a petition calling for the ban to be lifted.
SEW says whilst it may seem strange for hosepipe restrictions to still be in place “when it’s grey, cold and wet outside”, during the winter groundwater reserves take longer to recover than surface reservoirs. Groundwater makes up nearly 80% of the water resources in the South East and data from the EA from last week shows one chalk aquifer in North Kent remains below normal levels for this time of year.
South East Water says it will be providing an update later this week on its hosepipe ban and it says the winter rainfall has been welcome.
