Seven areas of England, including the whole of London are officially in drought after record low rainfall and exceptionally high temperatures.
Due to this period of extreme hot weather and lack of rain, Thames Water issued a temporary hosepipe ban on Thursday 23 July, which is still in place.
What this means for residents (advice from Thames Water)
Please do not use your hosepipe, sprinklers, or pressure washers. This means not using the hosepipe for watering gardens, cleaning your car or the pavement, or filling paddling pools.
You can still use watering cans, buckets, and watering butts to water plants and trees, but please refrain from using excess water and try to use recycled water as much as possible. Recycled water includes: collected rainwater, excess shower water, and water used for washing fruits and vegetables.
Remember, BBQs are not permitted in our parks and open spaces, and please take care to dispose of cigarettes carefully to prevent wildfires.
If you have questions about the hosepipe ban, please contact Thames Water.
Some customers, activities and businesses may be exempt from the hosepipe ban, including health and safety needs and animal welfare. Find out about exemptions.
For more information, please visit Thames Water’s website.
What this means for council services
We’re taking action to protect water supplies as a council and use water responsibly, this means:
Pausing all jet-washing programmes in town centres during the ban, except where it is necessary for health and safety reasons.
Where possible, we will be using rainwater bowsers to water plants and certain newly planted trees that need water and are exempt from the hosepipe ban.
The fountains in Beresford Square in Woolwich will continue to run as they use water that is recycled back into the fountain system.
Winn’s Common paddling will remain open as public swimming pools are not impacted by the ban. The paddling pool at Hornfair Park is currently closed while we work to resolve an issue found during maintenance that means it needs to be fully drained.
If you see young trees or saplings on your street or in public greenspaces that need water, please water them using a can or recycled water if possible. You can also use recycled water (such as that from the washing up) for your plants at home.