Our water supplier hasn’t enforced a hosepipe ban, having plentiful supplies, but it seems what’s needed nationally is some other initiative that does more to stem the flow. According to these two pie charts, which I came across while buying wood in a timber store, of the 21.7% of water used domestically, only 7% is utilised outside. Assuming hosepipes account for that 7%, it means that if everyone stopped all outside water use, there would be an overall saving of 1.5%. Mmm.
Perhaps the most telling aspect of these pie charts is the extraordinary amount of water used in toilet flushing. Apparently, this works out at 6 flushes a day, per person. Possibly, the water companies might be better employed putting their energy into devising an alternative way of dealing with humanure – in particular, urine – that doesn’t involve using more four times more water than ever finds its way into hosepipes.
pinkie 
I believe that in the less subtle English parts of the southern hemisphere they have a saying, which goes….ahem; “If it’s brown, flush it down. It’s yellow, let it mellow”. Perhaps we need to adopt the approach of our former penal colonies?
there is often a “light” flush option with more modern toilets that uses some fraction of the normal amount of water. maybe this or using it to feed the plants is a better option as letting it mellow does tend to smell after a while….