Firstly, check to find out if you are affected by restrictions.  Contact your water company or check on the Environment Agency website, www.environment-agency.gov.uk

Know what you can and can’t do.  You can still use your hose (sensibly, of course) even under a hosepipe restriction.

YOU CAN USE A HOSEPIPE TO:

• Fill watering cans, water butts, pressure sprayers and other empty containers
• Connect a pressure washer to the outside tap
• Hose down pets and livestock
• Supply water for DIY and hard landscaping projects, eg for mixing concrete, mortar, etc.
• Fill up ponds and pools
• Water a council allotment
• Supply water to garden showers and children’s toys
• Clean windows and buildings, including greenhouses

YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO:

• Water plants or the soil directly
• Wash cars

WATER LESS OFTEN:

• There are several ways to reduce the number of times you need to water:
• Water-retaining gel
• Manual watering systems
• Soil reservoirs
• Break the crust
• Add organic matter
• Mulch
• The lawn - let the grass grow a little longer before mowing, then raise the cutting height to 4cms (1.5 inches) and leave the cuttings on the lawn
• Provide shelter - pick a planting spot that is protected by walls, fences, hedges or other plants
• Bigger pots – use a bigger pot and more compost to cool the soil and conserve moisture

WATER WISELY:

• Don’t water when it’s not needed
• Watering little and often is less efficient and uses more water than a single thorough watering
• Be sure to deliver water directly to the base of plants
• Water early or late in the day to avoid evaporation losses
• Don’t rush and gush
• Don’t overfill watering cans
• Do make full use of one or more water butts to collect rainwater
• If daunted by watering cans or physically unable to carry them, you can now buy electric water butt pumps complete with hose fittings, which will give you sufficient pressure to run a hosepipe or a drip irrigation system from your water butt.
• Use a backpack sprayer to water plants - but do make sure that you have cleaned it thoroughly if it has previously been used to spray weedkiller or insecticide solutions
• Consider installing a greywater diversion kit to channel used water from your bath or shower, from the downpipe to the garden.