Who is expecting a Hose Ban? Tips on water saving?

A week's warning is good. since we aren't banned yet in Thames Valley. I have of course been topping up the pond!

Hoping that we, me and Mark, friend veg grower, can harvest most of the veg soon, as with watering everything is fruiting and ripening very quickly!

It will really be serious if we have a ban - it has rained nearly every day during the last week. Mostly overnight. Our grass is still green here. Best wishes to those who are coping with water shortages.

I have a couple of plastic dustbins that I fill with water from a hosepipe because I don’t have an outside tap and if I go away my neighbour can use the water to water my pot plants. It actually takes ages to fill them up using the hose so if I do use the hose to water the lawn I’ve realised I’m not using anywhere near as much water as I thought I was. I only have a tiny lawn anyway. I save the bath water to flush the upstairs toilet and the washing up water to flush the downstairs toilet. I’ve been careful about using water since I had a meter. I have to keep my car reasonably clean because I’m surrounded by pine trees that exude sticky stuff all over my car. I’m filling the washing machine to capacity when I use it ( which isn’t very often anyway). I did use the hose on the lawn when I got back from holiday as the man who cuts my grass cut it too short and I’d put a lot of rather expensive grass seed down ( I’m surrounded by trees and nothing grows). In future I’m just going to plant things that don’t need much water; sedums, salvia, herbs etc. When I give the dog fresh water the old water goes into a bucket to water the plants.

We thought we were in the hosepipe bank in Hampshire but luckily have avoided it. I have been saving household water for the past couple of weeks and using it on the garden to keep shrubs going. I keep a washing up bowl in the sink and whenever I wash my hands it goes into there and I later empty it into the garden. Ditto my bath - not a lot of water and nailing it out on the plants. Also don’t flush the toilet every time - obviously sometimes it’s essential!?? I’m not sure others around are being as careful!

Alie2Oxon

Last time we had a ban I was allowed to fill the butt with the hose - at least we had water available at the end of the garden!

I've been looking online and the different areas have differing rules, so I hope ours will be like that again.....
This time I have a - very scruffy - pond. Can I top that up? I don't know yet.

You can top up your pond if there is no hosepipe ban in your area and you should get a week’s warning if there’s going to be one.

Last time we had a ban I was allowed to fill the butt with the hose - at least we had water available at the end of the garden!

I've been looking online and the different areas have differing rules, so I hope ours will be like that again.....
This time I have a - very scruffy - pond. Can I top that up? I don't know yet.

My water butt has been empty for a month so i too collect the water when I'm running the tap for hot water. We arent expecting a hosepipe ban so far but so many are complaining that their precious lawns will die if they aren't watered daily, what is wrong with them!!! The grass will grow back when it rains FGS! Makes me so mad.

Our hosepipe ban began last night so I’m dismantling my hanging baskets a month early as they’re already beginning to look spent due to the heat.

I have taken apart a large concrete water feature, that I inherited when I moved in so I can use the large reservoir to store grey water. It’s big enough to convert into a raised pond for wildlife when the ban is over.

I’ve also filled large buckets with water and have placed them at various points near to pots. I use an empty baked beans tin as a ladle. They’ll also be topped up with grey water.

Cutting back perennials will also have to start earlier.

Things will get harder next week but it is what it is. ?

I have been putting any containers free of holes around the garden to collect rainwater.

'Grey' water (from baths, showers etc.) is fine for watering plants. Is there anyway you could put a diverter and water butt onto a grey water outlet pipe? Or even a series of water butts, because the water in one butt, I'm sorry to say, won't go very far.

During the 1976 drought I used to siphon our bathwater into the garden...

Move to Manchester! It has hardly stopped raining since those two heatwave days.