To just ignore the hose pipe ban this year

The hose pipe ban is a bit random but it’s there mainly because it’s something they can enforce (to the extent it ever is) without being too intrusive. Watching everyone shower on the other hand…

Fill a paddling pool in your garden and use the water from that for your plants?

Im not strong enough to manage a watering can as I have disabilities in my hands. I use a hose. Not sure what I would do if caught or fined, I dont have 'cant use watering can' on my medical notes, only the diagnosis of the thing Ive got which doesnt tell anyone how it affects my day to day

Hose pipe ban? This summer? Are you sure?

What water company are you? We have had almost record rainfall/

In this country you can collect rain water and water the entire neighborhood.

Where do you live?

It's been pissing it down absolutely everywhere, reservoirs are full, water tables high and I'd be utterly amazed if anywhere had a ban this year

It doesn't quite work like that. They've built no new reservoirs in decades and with a growing population and poor storage of water, even the wettest of winters can be followed by hosepipe bans in some areas.

Frankly considering that it has been raining almost everyday for months, the water companies would be taking the piss if they called for a ban...

All the reservoirs should be full and considering our summers last about 5 minutes there should be no need for any of that nonsense.

I have sympathy if you're watering fruit and veg, less so for flowers and zero sympathy for lawns. Water is like any other essential utility. You wouldn't keep all your lights on just because your neighbours do? That's a waste of electricity and costs a bomb. Why is water less valued?

In the longer term, many, many more reservoirs are needed to hold the winter rains for use in the summer droughts. And, Water Companies, fix the leaks and the shit in the rivers too.

Are you sure you're not allowed to use a hose to water veg though? It's an exception to hosepipe bans usually. I carried on using a hose on my allotment last summer during a ban, it was allowed.

We have an IBC container in our garden and 4 water butts. We use a hose to empty grey water out of the bathroom window and into the IBC. They're more than sufficient to keep us going all year round.

YANBU to feel like it's unfair. People who use water wastefully (especially when they are adding chemicals to it like soaps, bleach, dishwasher tablets etc) are adding to the problem. We don't all need to shower/bath every day and have all clean clothes every day. It's awful for the planet. Awful for many people's skin too.

I would hate to see my lovely garden go brown and crisp in the sun because I couldn't water it adequately, while listening to the neighbours drains going all the time and them splashing about in a pool (as PPs have said, how are they filling said pool anyway?).

I would be tempted as well but probably still not do it as I'm too worried about being caught!

What an odd thing to be worrying about now, in April, when we’ve had a ridiculously wet few months anyway…

Wow! You think you should be entitled to use more water in a shortage situation because you live on your own?

that’s some chutzpah.

I'll be making sure to take any hosepipe ban just as seriously as the water companies take fixing leaks, building reservoirs and reducing sewerage discharges.

But you shower as well, I hope? Why should you be allowed more water than each one of them?

There is no shortage of water as we have seen with the wettest 12months since 1830.

What there is, is a shortage of reservoir storage from winter to summer and a lack of repairs to leaky pipes by the water companies.

There was a suggestion many years ago to put back into use the canal network both for leisure purposes and to allow the transport of raw water from north to south. The northern water companies were all up for it as they could sell the water for a nice profit whereas the southern water companies not surprisingly objected and it went nowhere.

I live alone with no kids, all the neighbouring houses have at least four people in the family.

Are you not a meter? Worry about your own use, not others.

I don't even own a hosepipe but you could get around this by just laying a hosepipe flat on the floor edged around your lawn and opening the tap in the morning or evening to water the general area. Neighbours are unlikely to notice.

Why do you think your neighbours use more water per person than you do? How does that make sense? I would hazard a guess that my family uses less water than 4 single people because we never run the washing machine or dishwasher half empty, and we often share a bath. Having said all that, I do think that water companies need to fix their leaks as well as upgrade their infrastructure to adapt it to the changing climate.

Will anyone know or care?

As long as you’re not leaving your lawn sprinkler on for entire evenings (our neighbours), I’d say crack on.

I live in the Thames Water area and its rare there isn't a pipe leak causing chaos around the area. Nobody listens to them when they talk about drought.