With the recent extreme weather conditions across the UK, official figures show July 2022 has been the driest July in England since 1911. Up to the 26th July there has only been 15.8mm of rain averaged across England. With this in mind, certain areas have imposed hosepipe bans including Hampshire, Kent, Sussex and the Isle of Wight. There are however exemptions for professional growers and new lawns.

If you are in a hosepipe ban area, in order to save water, you need to use your hosepipe as little as possible. You must not use a hosepipe that is connected to your mains water supply. A hosepipe is anything which is designed, adapted or used to serve the same purpose as a hosepipe. Garden sprinklers and irrigation systems, connected to the mains water supply are all considered to be hosepipes.

 

With a temporary hosepipe ban in place, you must not:

  • Water a garden using a hosepipe.
  • Water plants in your home or garden or other non-commercial premises using a hose pipe.

 

There are exemptions for your garden if you are:

  • Watering of new lawns for the first 28 days after being laid and when undertaken outside of daily peak hours that occur 8am to 10am and 5pm to 9pm.
  • Watering plants that are grown or kept for sale or commercial use.
  • Using a drip or trickle irrigation watering system, fitted with a pressure reducing valve and a timer, that are not handheld.

 

Having a new lawn can be hard to maintain during a hosepipe ban but there are ways to care and maintain it. If you are in an area that is not yet affected by a hosepipe ban you can care for your new and existing lawn without restriction, but we recommend you take into account the extremely dry conditions.

Existing lawns which look golden brown will come back green again very quickly when regular rain patterns return. The lawn can still be cut with a lawn mower, you can reset the blades to 4cm to encourage dense busy growth. If it is possible leave a light sprinkling of grass clippings on the lawn to try and keep the little moisture there is in the lawn.

New lawns have the exemption and can be watered for the first 28 days after being laid during the hosepipe ban. Newly laid lawns will need some watering. It is best advised to water the lawn in the evening so that less water evaporates and more is allowed to penetrate deeper into the soil, however be aware that the new lawn exemption excludes the peak periods of 8am-10am and 5pm-9pm. It is best not to lightly water as the roots of the grass will stay near the surface and suffer more.