Cambridge Water has imposed a temporary hosepipe ban affecting around 350,000 residents, marking the first such restriction in the region in three decades. The ban, announced on July 9, 2026, takes effect immediately and becomes legally enforceable from 1am BST on July 17. The company supplies drinking water to parts of Cambridgeshire, including Cambridge, Ramsey, Gamlingay, Balsham, and Melbourn.
Record Demand and Extreme Heat
The ban comes as the UK experiences its third scorching heatwave this year, with temperatures reaching 35°C in Surrey on Thursday. The Met Office reported that this marked the eighth day in 2026 with temperatures exceeding 34°C, breaking the previous record of seven days set in 1976 and equalled in 2020. Cambridge Water cited a 30 per cent increase in water use, equivalent to an extra 300,000 baths daily, coupled with low rainfall since March.
Elena Karpathakis, managing director at Cambridge Water, stated: "We have been doing everything possible to maintain supplies, but demand for water is currently at record levels. So we really need your help please." She added: "This is not a decision we have taken lightly – it is the first time in more than 30 years, since the UK drought of 1995, that we have had to introduce a temporary hosepipe ban."
Environmental Impact and Restrictions
Cambridgeshire has experienced below-average rainfall since March, with one of its driest Aprils on record, followed by heatwaves in May and June that brought record temperatures. The company has started drawing down on its underground reserves "sooner and faster" than normal. The ban aims to "help protect local water resources and the region's internationally important chalk streams."
Under the ban, all customers must stop using hosepipes for non-essential activities such as watering gardens, filling ponds, fountains, paddling pools, swimming pools, hot tubs or cold-water plunge pools, and washing cars, patios, or windows.
Other Water Companies Follow Suit
South East Water introduced a ban on July 3 for areas of Kent, including Ashford, Canterbury, Faversham, Maidstone, Sevenoaks, Snodland, Tenterden, and Tunbridge Wells. Southern Water is also implementing restrictions for about one million customers across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight from July 10.
Cambridge Water supplies drinking water to around 350,000 customers in Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire. The company noted that "we still have several months of summer ahead of us, which could be filled with equally hot and dry weather."
