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.

That is a lot of print to say that water should not be a private companies cash cow. Presumably from someone paid by the word rather than by the fact.

Be careful - you might get sued for stating the falsehood "They spent no money" about the water companies. They have spent record amounts of money - so much so that had to up our bills.

The problem is not water companies not spending money. It's just they didn't actually spend it on the water network.

It's the same as the rail companies who have also spent record amounts of of money. Only not on railways.

Just for the avoidance of doubt (and a libel suit) I am happy to state that UK water companies have not been parsimonious with the money they received from their customers. They've spent the lot.

It’s the Environment Agency that has imposed the abstraction ban, not the water companies.

Even if water was renationalised we’d still have the same posters saying they wouldn’t reduce their water consumption when requested because it isn’t their job to manage available water levels.

Still, in the years to come when climate change and population growth means more onerous restrictions on household water, their children can look back fondly at the posts by their parents and reminisce over how their parents not only publicly proclaimed they were complete arses, but how, once a smart water meter had been fitted, their parents were suddenly landed with a £1000 fine…

Smart meters would be a boon for a renationalised water industry. No need to go to costly lengths trying to prove use of a hosepipe during a ban, just look at the daily/hourly usage figures and get your evidence from that. Leaks are an ongoing issue, 24/7, they don’t magically only occur at at about the same the kids are home from school and stop at bedtime…

Current average daily use is 140l of water per person, apparently the government is aiming to reduce this to 100l per person.

Could you quote the posters who have said they’re going to ignore the ban and waste as much water as humanly possible?

Because it seems to me that you’re completely ignoring what posters are saying or you’re really struggling to comprehend it.

It’s the Environment Agency that has imposed the abstraction ban, not the water companies.

Since that won't change the fines involved, it's a semantic difference. People being attacked by a dog wouldn't thank you for point out it's not a wolf.

Even if water was renationalised we’d still have the same posters saying they wouldn’t reduce their water consumption when requested because it isn’t their job to manage available water levels.

Counterfactuals are tricky, I admit. However if the water companies hadn't been so ostentatiously venal and corrupt and the evidence of their malfeasance so obvious (you could literally smell the shit) then maybe the resistance to chipping in would be lessened.

A lot of absolute tosh is written about "the blitz spirit". However, it is interesting to speculate what the reaction of the public would have been to rationing had it turned out that cargo ships had been turned into luxury cruise liners to enable hard-pressed aristocrats to escape the noise and bustle of the war ?

Still, in the years to come when climate change and population growth means more onerous restrictions on household water, their children can look back fondly at the posts by their parents and reminisce over how their parents not only publicly proclaimed they were complete arses, but how, once a smart water meter had been fitted, their parents were suddenly landed with a £1000 fine…

Well pursuing the counterfactual you started, they could just as well look back on this as a moment where the public forced the government to reign* in the robber barons of the waterways and start treating water as the precious resource for all. Not just as a means to dilute the ink for the printing presses that were churning out untold billions over the past 30 years.

*Every pun intended. Deal with it.

https://constructionmanagement.co.uk/housing-ombudsman-publishes-report-on-leaks-maladministration/

https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/20129903/water-bill-housing-association-failed-fix-leak/?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=sunmaintwitter&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1666005526

Could you quote the posters who have said they’re going to ignore the ban and waste as much water as humanly possible?

If that has been stated in this thread, it may have been more for effect than a serious statement of intent.

However the very direction this thread has taken is a clear signal that having been forced to pay ever increasing bills to companies who were burning the money to heat their pools rather than even pretending to deliver the service they expected (which I admit is probably not what they believe their mission is anyway) the average householder is unsympathetic to suggestion that it's now "on us" to save their profits.

Over the past decades, I have become increasingly weary with the steady parade of outfits who demand money with menaces (water, gas, electric, local council) and then hold their hands up when things go wrong and say "this has nothing to do with us".

Exactly Maybe SH tenants have been going about things the wrong way. Maybe we should be reporting the housing associations to the Environment Agency!

@Thedevilhasfinallycaughtupwithhim I’m assuming the back button on your browser is malfunctioning so you’ve been unable to read all the earlier comments.

The initial question posed was would the reader report a neighbour for using a hose pipe during a ban. Many said no, they wouldn’t do that, but they wouldn’t use a hosepipe themselves either.

However some replies went further and made it perfectly clear that the author would quite happily flout any water restrictions that were imposed and would continue using a hosepipe during a ban.

Names included so YOU can go back and check when your IT situation improves.

@WhatTheHelll ”No and I'd be using mine too. We pay enough for water as it is so I would not be cutting back.”

@Didntask ”I wouldn't report anyone. I also won't be taking any notice of the ban either.”

@BatchCookBabe ”No way would I report anyone for using a hosepipe, and if MY area gets a 'hosepipe ban' my water company is deluded if they think I won't be using MY hosepipe! I will be watering my many 100s of flowers! No fucker is going to stop me!”

@Livelovebehappy ”Many of us have also spent a fortune on plants to cheer up our gardens. Not a chance am I leaving them to die due to the incompetence of Yorkshire Water.”

@Mykittensmittens ”…so if I need a hosepipe, well, I think l've probably paid for that use?”

@rockstarshoes ”Nope! And I will continue to water my pots & raised beds until they stop pumping raw sewage into our rivers & sea!”

@Ihateslugs ”However, I would probably want to continue using a hose pipe in a ban to water my patio pots every couple of days as I am doing now.”

@GirlWithTheRedScarf ”As a tiny island surrounded by billions of gallons of water and the majority of the planet blue with vast water resources, I will continue to use water and refuse to give in to distractions imposed in the form of "hosepipe bans". Life's too short and we pay enough in taxes etc for the water corporations to pull finger out. It happens every year. Enjoy your garden plants”

@Allofthelightss ”So excuse me if I want to fill a paddling pool for my daughter to enjoy or water the grass I've worked hard to keep instead of plastic or concrete which is increasing flooding and killing the environment.”

@Umbrella15 ”No because my flowers were expensive and I am not willing to let them die.”

@Billybea ”No way!! When the water companies have leaks going on for days pumping gallons and gallons of water onto the road without fixing it! If it was so precious they would fix their pipes and get someone out early to fix it. Anyway I would love to chat but I have to water my plants!”

@SerendipityJane ”As it turns out, I don't use a hosepipe (because my love of gardening is non existent). However a tiny part of me feels like deliberately going out and using one anyway.”

@Bookcovermisleading ”Nope. I would fill paddling pool and water flowers without hesitation. I live in an area where the water company literally left water leaks for over a year ! Roads permanently trickling water for months on end.”

If I rigged up a hosepipe to fill the cisterns from an outside tap, could I join the club ?

As I said, I detest any form of gardening. However, in a move that pretty much proves there is a God somewhere, it's been a steady drizzle here since about 9 this morning.

The question was would you report your neighbour and my reply was "no" as for watering my garden we don't have a ban here until Friday so I shall carry on as usual until that time! Maybe some people should read the question properly before quoting others !!

Tbh, whilst I said I would continue watering plants i'm going to use a watering can. I dont possess a hosepipe. Water companies need to up their game and not feed us lies about investing the extortionate payments they charge us in repairs, when clearly thats not the case.

Someone posted on social media a picture of a person washing their car with a hose pipe. The person pictured came on to say that as they have a blue badge theyre exempt from the ban. Is this true?!

It could well be. In fact we are exempt, but we don't need to be. As responsible people with two water butts we have disconnected our hose from the outside tap and are using rain water and grey water from the washing up bowls we have placed in every sink in the house to water our plants.

It is surprising just how much water goes down the plughole when it can be caught to water the garden. I'm talking about from handwashing, washing salad, rinsing stuff etc, not the washing up water.

I make no excuse for sounding morally superior and sanctimonious in this case.

Then yes, I’d do it, whether you like them or not

Southern Water the latest domino to fall:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckglpvzygvzo

Sanctuary Housing meant to be fixing my leak this morning . They hadnt turned up so i rang them. They have lied and said they couldnt get access. We have been in all morning

Not sure why you’ve posted this here. This is about leaks within the home which are nothing to do with water companies

But this is a private leak / nothing to do with a water company. However, a lot of wasted water is due to private leaks not being repaired

Water companies have to submit a 5 year plan to the regulator who then ok or push back and say they can’t have that amount of money and they are only allowed to spend it on x, y and z. This is in the public domain
www.southeastwater.co.uk/about/our-plans/business-plan-2025-2030/

You do all realise, surely, that by continuing using water in these ways means there will not be enough water to go around for the essentials? The likelihood of which means continued water shortages for all of us and our taps running dry

Maybe that will focus the efforts to improve the situation.

Would that be the same SW who did NOT give a bonus to their CEO but doubled his pay instead..... to an eye watering £1.4m....

People cannot be blamed for ignoring hose pipe bans when bad behaviours & leaks continue.

This Govt and the Regulator are working hand in glove with the industry to ensure leaks, sewage discharges and excessive pay continues.

You do all realise, surely, that by continuing using water in these ways means there will not be enough water to go around for the essentials? The likelihood of which means continued water shortages for all of us and our taps running dry

Why should the consumer, literally, carry the can for Government and Industry failings? whilst at the same time see water bills double & CEOs get even more money?