Thames Water has announced that a temporary hosepipe ban will come into force this week, including in Oxfordshire.
Thames Water says it is bringing in a Temporary Use Ban – commonly known as a hosepipe ban – for all households and businesses it supplies with drinking water, after an exceptionally dry spring, three official heatwaves, record‑breaking temperatures and prolonged high demand.
The measures are due to start at 12.01am BST on Thursday, July 23, 2026, and will bar customers in affected areas from using hosepipes for non‑essential tasks, including watering gardens, washing vehicles, filling paddling pools or topping up hot tubs.
A map has been released showing the affected areas, and residents can enter their own postcodes via the link below to check.
The utility firm is urging people to stick to the rules immediately rather than waiting for the ban to formally come into force.
Thames Water says demand for water has stayed unusually high during recent hot spells, running at around 10 per cent above normal across the Thames Valley and Home Counties, and about 7 per cent higher than usual in London.
On average, customers are collectively drawing an extra 100 million litres every day across London and the Thames Valley.
This is roughly the same as adding the water needs of every home in Manchester onto the company’s network.
At peak times, supplies are being used faster than they can be treated and moved through some parts of the system, increasing pressure on local reserves.
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