Hose pipe bans could be imposed
Thursday 24th June 2010, 11:45AM BST.
Utility bosses have warned have hose pipe bans could be imposed across the West Midlands as water levels drop.
Reservoir levels are low after an unseasonably dry spring, and if temperatures stay above average drought orders may be submitted.
Severn Trent has experienced half the rainfall it would normally expect between March and the end of May.
Lake levels, including Tittesworth Reservoir, near Leek, which feeds the region, are about 20 per cent lower than normal at this time of year.
Rivers, lakes and boreholes will have water taken from them if levels continue to fall before any restrictions are imposed.
Andrew Marsh, from Severn Trent Water, said: “If we had several more weeks of dry weather then we would have to start talking about contingency plans in case of shortages and that might include restrictions.”
South Staffordshire Water is monitoring Blithfield Reservoir, near Lichfield, to ensure levels remain sustainable.
Across the country it has been the driest start to the year since 1964, and the driest January to May in the North-West since the 1920s.
There, United Utilities, which also covers parts of North Staffordshire, is actively considering a hose pipe ban if there is no rain in the next few weeks.
It will make an application for a drought permit tomorrow.
Cockermouth, which experienced devastating floods during the winter, is among areas where river levels have dropped dramatically.
The Met Office reckons there will be no let up of the dry weather in the West Midlands.
There may be a few isolated showers today in some areas, but the next week is forecast to be fine in the West Midlands with temperatures reaching around 24C (75F).
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I pay my water rates, I want to use a hosepipe or give me a rebate. They can`t handle too much or too little rain, its the same every year. Are they going to ban car washes/hand car wash places & swimming pools as well? How long before we have to get our water from an emergency tanker at the bottom of our street, Grow up water companies & give the public the service they pay for instead of acting like new government & squeezing us “Dry”!
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Hey Raj, take a chill pill and don’t be so selfish.
We all pay our water rates and we know where the water goes i.e. numerous leaks, but if everyone stopped using their hosepipes would it be such a difficult sacrifice to make?
I totally agree with Connor on this one.
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Hi Woody- We all pay our water rates & know where the water goes, but where does the money go? The big companies should be a less selfish.
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why doesnt anyone do anything about all these numerous leaks that we all seem to know about & why should customers sacrifice thier money rather than demand the the product they have paid for but not had delivered.
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Would it not also be a small sacrifice not to use our cars until BP clean up their leaky pipes? lets all pay for someone elses incompetence BUT worst of all lets accept it! I totally disagree with you on this one.
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As a car user who buys BP fuel, I’ll still use my car.
Now if you want to talk about American rigs and American made equipment and American companies running rigs….then boycott US goods…
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do you mind not using your hosepipe so i can give freshwatr to my family.
thanks
Rob
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Tap water ain`t that fresh!
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Then feel free to just buy bottled water and tell the water board to cut you off as you want fresh water only.
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Eye like water.. eye like what fish do in it. But the water companies are taking the mickey out of us for not looking after the stocks. They should store it somewhere when it rains.
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You mean like in a reservoir?
Hey, small island, heavily urbanised, with people that don’t want their land swallowed up by a reservoir. Hard to get a new one built, always people objecting to where it is or having to move……..
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Living in Spain I do have a chuckle when I read these reports.
If the water companies repaired all of their leaking pipes there would be no need for a hose pipe ban at all.
They will argue they spend ”x” amount of millions each year which looks impressive on paper but it is a pitance compared with what is needed.
But repairing leaks is no good to the shareholders because it eats into their profits and therefor their dividends.
Raj, it is no longer a ”public service” it is a company geared to make a profit so I am afraid the ”customers” come a long way down the ladder.
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Raj – when you wrote “it is the same every year”, did you really mean rainfall is the same every year?
If you did, did you not go to school, or have you been living in a cupboard for the last 20 years?
Water companies can do more to repair leaks, but they can’t control the rainfall, can they?
Incidents of extreme rainfall have been steadily increasing. When it rains really hard, surface water is simply washed away into rivers and eventually into the sea, rather than topping up reservoirs. Overall volume of rainfall is set to increase due to climate change, but a lot of that increase is as a result of storm events, when it rains too heavily and causes flooding.
If you want to reduce the risk of having an emergency tanker at the bottom of your street, then start taking action to reduce your carbon footprint, start engaging in the political process to make sure the state takes proper action to reduce its carbon footprint, buy a water butt, wash your car less and get used to a world with more rainfall, but less water.
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Connor-”the same every year” refers to the situation.
Would anyone pay for petrol up front then at the pump you are limited to how much you can have. These huge companies have enough money, time & resources to do more than simply impose a ban.
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Really? You sure about that?
These companies are owned by investors who want a return on their money. That likely includes any pension scheme you have.
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Are we not all investors in the water service because we are paying into it, plus customers also want a return on their money in the from of the service delivererd,investors are more demanding so they get their return. If it involves everyones pensions everyone should ask questions.
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Connor has valid points but so does Raj. The main crux of the matter is the water companies are making huge profits out of a natural resource that is limited by how much falls through out the year. If these companies plowed every cent back into their company making it more efficient then may be hose pipe bans would not be needed. However as this is not the case then we have to deal with it and conserve, or we all suffer
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Many of us have noticed the subtle name change of “Global Warming” being regenerated as “Climate Change”. In that way, the Greens, or whatever they are calling themselves this week, can say that whatever happens, they have got it right, and the rest of us fools are wrong again.I remember that following the drought of 1976, the water companies said it would never happen again. A network of pipes akin to the National Grid would be put in place throughout the country and we would have ample supplies for everyone. The only thing they did not say was when they were going to do it.If they can supply water for a year for £20 in the African desert, why can’t they maintain the water supply in this country? taking into account what they charge us.
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Here we go again.
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You`re right!
Its “the water is low in summer” and it`ll be “the gas is low in supply” in winter!! or was that last year, oh its probably this year and maybe next year BUT keep up your payments or these companies will cut you off. They got money and manpower for that!!
we should all expect the product we have paid for and if we don`t get it ask why, nothing wrong with that.
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It seems that almost every couple of years, there’s a spell of warmer, drier weather in the spring. This inevitably leads to consternation about water levels and supply.
The lack of infrastructure work, which could reduce water loss significantly, is frustrating for everyone that doesn’t have a vested financial interest in the water companies.
This goes up there with the “Oh no! Four inches of snow: The world is ending!” moments. It’s not a surprise, it’s a climatic variant that some people have failed to account for.
No wonder we, as a nation, are becoming a cheap laugh.
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English Exile, you hit the nail on the head, if the water companies acted responsibly and stopped all the leaks then probably there would be sufficient water to keep us going, but if they spent all the money necessary to solve the problem then that means there would be less profits to pay the shareholders and that the crux of the problem, stop the leaks or pay the shareholders, this new Conservative / Liberal alliance should take a leaf out of Obama’s book , when the oil devastated that area of America he said don’t pay the shareholders their dividend to you have paid for the damage caused by BP, the shareholders in these water companies shouldn’t get paid until all the leaks have been stopped, your either providing a service or your not.
What should also be taken into account is the recent sudden increase in the population due to EEC Laws, if the EEC say we have to have all these immigrants because it infringes their Human Rights to stop them coming here, then the EEC should be stumping up the money to cloth and feed them.
Jim of Bearwood.
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Or you could blame it on the EU even.
And yet we still want workers, we still want people paying various taxes in Britain. And other countries in the EU don’t have the same problems with water. Why is that?
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This has absolutely nothing to do with individuals improving their carbon footprint and everything to do with the water companies putting shareholder dividends before their customers. We have had what must be the wettest two summers, along with an awful winter of snow (slow-melting and,therefore,surely not being ‘washed away’) and yet, as soon as we have a dry spell, the water companies start bleating. They’ve profited long enough from doing nothing to repair the ageing pipe system so now they should put up or shut up. My European friends laugh when I try to explain why I can’t use a hosepipe to water my garden in summer and, frankly, I don’t blame tyhem.
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