Would you report somebody for using a hosepipe during a ban?

[BurntBroccoli]

Lots of people on FB saying they will continue using as much water as they please as they have “paid for it”.

Reservoir levels are at 55% capacity when normally it’s 89% and with much more hot weather to come, I’m worried that they will implement standpipes due to people being irresponsible.

Yep. And some people saying they have two showers and a bath everyday 😮

The thing is that puts all the work on to me doesn’t it? So filling my watering can from the tap 10 times rather than a quick walk round with the hose! My hose has a tap handle thing that I turn on when I get to the pot I’m watering - exactly the same as using a watering can - I’m not spraying the water around the whole garden!

Plus from reading the threads on here, there are people washing their towels everyday, their t-shirts after half an hour’s wear and having 3 showers a day! No one is being reported for that.

so I will use my common sense, I’ll turn the tap off while I clean my teeth, I’ll do bigger loads of washing & have a shorter shower but I will continue to water my pots with a hosepipe!

We don’t currently have a ban anyway!

Yorkshire has by far had the worst comparative drop in rainfall this year

Yes we have. You usually see me on weather threads complaining about the damp weather when it is nice everywhere else, but it really has been exceptionally dry and warm since March. I keep a tally of energy units produced by our solar panels. Last year we produced 1559 units between February and June and this year it was 2062 units.

The drop in rainfall has been massive. We normally get about 87mm of rain in June. This year it was 22mm, so approximately 25% of our usual precipitation.

1995 was another exceptionally dry year, and Yorkshire Water were tankering water to the reservoirs near Huddersfield from Kielder.

Exactly!

The ten times s week towel washers far more selfish than those giving their plants a quick hose.

It will, yes. But that’s the way things are heading. Anglian water have installed smart meters in over a million homes already. It’s a water-stressed part of the country so they’re obviously prioritising doing this, plus there are thousands of new homes planned in the region during this parliament. AW expect to have all their customers on smart water meters by 2030.
https://www.anglianwater.co.uk/news/anglian-water-completes-initial-smart-meter-rollout-to-1.1m-homes/

Affinity began trialling a rising block tariff with 1500 customers in Stevenage in 2023 (?) and more were planned to join this and last year. South West Water started a seasonal pricing trial in October last year. It’s compulsory and customers cannot opt out. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/Customers_'forced'_to_take_part_in_water_trial

So yes, it’s happening, but it won’t be overnight.

And with increased house building and the government pushing for the UK to be a world leader in data centres which are notorious for using vast amounts of both electricity and water, it is inevitable that smart metering with surge pricing or block tariffs is going to become the norm. In times of exceptional drought it’s also an easy and quick way for the water companies to initiate water rationing so the supply doesn’t disappear entirely.

The more people flout hosepipe bans and prove they cannot be trusted to be sensible with a finite resource, the more those in charge have to implement draconian measures.

I think water meters are a good idea tbh. If it makes people think sensibly and not have their washer on constantly that's good thing.

Every other utility we pay by usage so why not water. They need to do incentives to get people to switch.

Apparently the police don't want to know: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cren0070xw2o

This document from Ofwat details all the current trials for varying tariffs being run by the water companies.

https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Summary-of-water-companies-published-plans-for-household-charging-trials.pdf

Water companies should be investing their money in improving the service NOT cleverer ways to make more money.

Why would they? It’s not a police matter.

And this is why society’s fucked. This “I’m all right Jack” me me me attitude to life.

Sorry, OUR money*

Getting everyone onto meters would improve the service though?

Have you seen the amount of threads on here where people wash bedding multiple times a week or have 3 showers a day. If they paid for excess use it may be a deterrent then water wouldn't be wasted.

Imagine if gas or electricity was the same price for everyone, we'd have folk with tumblers on all day and the heating on 24/7 in winter.

There is no profession other than utilities who can perform so poorly, but make their stakeholders responsible for their mismanagement and will STILL make record profits.

No surprise. They don't want to know when it comes to thieves in shops (aka shoplifters) or illegal drugs largely.

BT/Openreach come in second place I suggest. The enemy of business in my opinion.

How?

What real measures can they do?

No matter what the water companies do to minimise leaks they can’t make it rain more, nor can they stop houses or data centres being built particularly in water-stressed parts of the country.

A UK Gov report states we will be extremely water short - by 5 billion litres a day - in 2055 due to a combination of climate change, increasing population and new technologies.

The water companies have no powers to halt climate change, reduce the population or ban data centres and house building.

But you hold them responsible, so what tangible changes do you expect the water companies to make?

Look at the number of posters who claim they intend to flout a hosepipe ban if one is imposed in their region. Glorifying in wasting a resource essential to life. Are the water companies responsible for the idiotic behaviour of their customers? If so, how do you propose they make their customers change this behaviour? You don’t think smart metering should be part of this, so what should be done instead?

Maybe those posters don’t think it will affect them, that they won’t be around in 2055. I can only assume they must really hate their own children.

That’s because flouting a hosepipe ban is a civil offence not a criminal one! 😂

From the bans in 2022:
A National Police Chiefs' Council spokesman said: "Breaches of hosepipe bans are a civil matter and should not be reported to the police.”

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/Police-do-not-want-reports-of-hosepipe-ban-breaches

Oh I hadn’t heard of this. How can I tell if I have a smart meter? Mine seems to give accurate readings without anyone checking or me submitting info.

The price surging is a good idea. People who use more should pay more with exemptions for the disabled.

I think a significant change to how we live will be enforced on us in the coming years. We cannot magic up potable water, so things will have to changed whether we like it or not.

I have spoken on this thread about the many reasons someone might be using water legally, and that I wouldn’t report them. We are actually a very water aware household, with toilets using grey water for example.

This post is about the possibility of reservoirs running so low that standpipes would need to be installed on streets to ration what’s left.
If people take the piss now filling massive pools, sprinklers on for hours, washing cars, jet washing paths for hours, then more risk of it happening.

Yes I’m aware that the water companies are shit and need re-nationalising to ensure profits put back into the system.

I don't get the people (person?) saying the water companies can't magic water from dust or make it rain.
No they can't and neither can we, but because it's their job and not ours they can collect more of it, more efficiently, and stop leaks much more efficiently.

The short term problem of making it rain right now is ONLY because of the long term problem of misuse of both the funds and the power to store and conserve the PLENTY OF RAIN we already get.

There might not be a cure for Australia, but there is for the UK. There is not a shortage of rain, there is a shortage of honest good management.

This! They have mismanaged our water supplies for 20 years while paying their executives massive bonus’s & dividends & now they are asking us to start reporting our neighbours for watering some plants!

They can fuck off!

That doesn’t mean that I am not being mindful of my water use , I am!

'I don't get the people (person?) saying the water companies can't magic water from dust or make it rain.No they can't and neither can we, but because it's their job and not ours they can collect more of it, more efficiently, and stop leaks much more efficiently.'

And stop waste by compulsory meter installation. Encourage much more 'efficient' usage!

@BurntBroccoli If you’ve been in your house a while then when a smart meter was fitted you would have received some info from your supplier. If you’ve moved into a house where one was already in place then, erm, no idea - you’ll have to look at pics of them to compare, I guess? 🤷‍♀️

As the smart water meters give daily feedback to the water companies at least they will be able to see where people are using more than expected during a hosepipe ban and investigate and fine as necessary. Presumably accounts marked as exempt or with priority customers wouldn’t be flagged in this way.

I don’t think they can turn the supply off remotely (at least I would hope not!) but if we get to the point of standpipes again then I guess it would be based on areas where usage is unsustainable without rationing and hopefully not target places which are more careful with water under a blanket supply restriction.