shazzbat wrote:

"Pete" wrote in message
...
We are about to have a hosepipe ban throughout the North West. My
immediate reaction was not to worry - we have a 5,000 gallon water
tank filled with rainwater which we hadn't used because the pump
system wasn't working. My other half now says he can get the pump
working so we can use this water via our hosepipes.

However, I have got a vague memory of people not being allowed to use
hosepipes even if they are not connected to the mains water.

Is my memory correct or am I having a senior moment?!!!

Your memory is correct. People were threatened with legal action for
using their hospipes to water their gardens with rainwater from tanks
etc. Note the term "threatened". I doubt whether they would actually
prosecute if you called their bluff. Frankly I doubt if they could
legally stop you moving your water with your hosepipe.

If it is for a banned purpose, they usually can. The ban is normally on
the use of the hose, irrespective of the source of the water.

However, the bans are usually quite complex and contain lots of
exceptions. The last one we had allowed a hose to be used to fill a pond
if it contained fish but not if there were none. It allowed hoses on
vegetable plots, but not on flower beds.

Being on a water meter, I've gone for a garden that should not need
watering, so hosepipe bans are generally only of academic interest to me.

Colin Bignell