NewsUK NewsSouth West Water PLCSouth West Water said the ban would come into force across multiple areas of Devon, with residents urged to stop using hosepipes to water gardens, fill pools and clean patios17:47, 13 Jul 2026Thousands of UK homes will be hit with a hosepipe ban as the country continues battling scorching temperatures this summer.South West Water (SWW) said the ban would be introduced across several areas of Devon, with water usage restrictions coming into effect from 12pm on Tuesday, July 14.Residents in the affected areas have been urged to observe the restrictions immediately, which include not using hosepipes to water gardens, fill pools, and clean cars, patios or boats.The impacted areas are: Tiverton, Cullompton, Bampton, Honiton, South Molton, Dunkeswell, Axminster, and Lyme Regis.SWW's ban comes after the UK sizzled in two heatwaves which brought record-breaking temperatures to the South West.The water company says elevated temperatures are significantly increasing demand by around approximately 5.4 million litres daily, particularly in these locations. This is despite operating the local treatment facilities round-the-clock for three weeks.David Harris, South West Water's Managing Director for Water Services, said: "The extreme hot weather over the last few weeks has resulted in exceptionally high demand on our drinking water network in Mid Devon and parts of East Devon."Through the ongoing 24/7 efforts of our local team, our local water treatment works is continuing to produce water at its maximum capacity and we've been doing everything we can to protect water supplies in the area for our customers."The decision to restrict hosepipe use is never taken lightly as we know how important it is for our customers to enjoy water wisely during hot weather."We will continue to monitor our demand levels daily and as soon as we see demand return to normal for this time of year, allowing our treatment water supply network to recover, we will lift the restrictions."Additional tankers have been deployed to transport water into the region, with SWW also doubling its leak detection workforce and repair crews, who are preventing the loss of 3.5 million litres of water per day.Article continues belowThe company is also redirecting water from neighbouring areas that have been less severely impacted by the heatwave.Areas under the hosepipe banTivertonCullomptonBamptonHonitonSouth MoltonDunkeswellAxminsterLyme RegisChoose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.‌South West Water PLCHeatwave