Hosepipe ban not in force until next week. Kids Pool, wwyd?

[MrsWidgerysLodger]

As per the title really, we're in Yorkshire and our hosepipe ban doesn't kick in until end August. DD has been asking to have the pool out but I'm on the fence about it given all the press about water shortages etc. So Munsnetters, WWYD? Do I put the pool up for the weekend or say no?

We seem lucky with Anglian Water. They say they still have 80% of their reservoir water and no imminent plans to impose a hosepipe ban. I have noticed though that everyone still seems careful
with using water. Everyone’s lawns are looking very sorry for themselves… even my next door who's usually fanatic about their lawn.

MN needs a Hosepipe ban section so I can hide the next million threads like this in one go.

You realise that if we run out of water that is actually a bit of an issue?

How big is the kid/pool? If it’s for a toddler and say 1m x 1m and you want to fill it with with a foot of water then that’s fine.

If like my neighbour you have an ‘outdoor inflatable hot tub’ for teen parties that’s about 3m x 3m and you fill it with deep water the day before the ban comes in then all your neighbours will think you’re an idiot.

Our maybe future PM is going to be filling a massive great swimming pool sometime soon if he hasn't already, I'm sure your pool is not as big as that so I should go ahead. He certainly doesn't seem to have any qualms about using water.

Just as an update we decided against it. I explained in simple terms to DD that we need to look after the planet and right now one of the ways we can do that is not use too much water if we don't need to. I've filled up a storage box we usually keep spare linen in under the bed instead and she's happily playing in that. She already knows we have water to some extent as we use water butts etc for the garden. We've been keeping the garden watered with watering cans from the water butts where possible as we have a lot of Butterfly and Bee friendly plants in the garden. Thanks to everyone who gave an opinion.

"Loads" is relative. Certainly not in the context of a massive housing crisis directly caused by there not being enough houses.

But that's for another thread.

Brilliant parenting.

All these arm chair hydrologists knowing how to fix the problems. Maybe you should all go and work for your local water company and show them how it should be done?

It's a complicated issue - should the water companies hold the blame for failing to invest in reducing leaks and improving infrastructure? Yes.
It is obscene the profits they generate and the huge salaries of their leadership people? Yes.
Is sorting those issues going to make it rain and solve the current water shortages we're facing? Nope.
Do we all have a responsibility to reduce our water use? Of course!
In the UK an individual uses an average of 142 litres per day. In Germany they use about 125 litres per day which has decrease from 147litres in 1990. If they can do it, so should can we.

Overall, we've had a very dry spring and summer. If we have a dry winter this year we'll be fucked next summer when demand goes back up because reservoir levels and groundwater won't have been replenished.

All those saying "build reservoirs" clearly have no clue how long these take to happen. There's one currently being built near Portsmouth, the initial planning went in in 2018 or 19 I think. Work started last year. It won't be operational until the end of the decade.
They're also massive and take a lot of land, so finding suitable spots in areas where they're needed is tricky. I bet none of the "they should just build reservoirs" brigade would fancy their town or village being flooded to build all these reservoirs.
Desalination is an option but is hugely expensive and takes a phenomenal amount of energy to do, but I'm sure no one minds water bills going up to pay for it so people can carry on keeping their lawns green and filling up paddling pools every day right?

Go for it.

I won't be stopping my children using theirs, but I won't use it for anything else.

Maybe the private water companies should consider sorting the billions or litres of wasted water a year through pipe leaks before expecting ordinary people trying to try keep kids cool to do the lions share of the work.

He’s yorkshire isn’t he?

he had better get in quick before that ban comes in

Perfect.

you sound like you know about this stuff.

what would happen if we started putting more water into the water cycle that wasn’t in a pure water form before?
e.g hydrogen cars?

They can try to. But the ground keeps shrinking around the pipes due to a lack of water. That shrinkage causes the pipes to move /crack and leak.

I’m so envious of your bumble nest. I used to have them in my old garden. They were an absolute joy.

I would fill the kids pool tbh. It's boiling

Stay. The fuck. At home.

or something.

Stay home. Support the water board. Save lives.

Stay home. Wash less.Save lives.

We'll probably see leaked pictures of Boris' hosepipe ban pool party in 12 weeks or so

We filles our daughter's pool two days ago (we didn't and still don't have a hosepipe ban... yet). I think it's important for children to keep cool and play at home when possible - they are cooped up inside all winter!

If there's a ban, then no I wouldn't fill our pool (it's a medium pool - not like those huge Intex things with steps but not a tiny toddler pool either). We're trying to keep the pool clean and topped up in case we do have a ban in the coming days or weeks.

Fill the pool while you can, assuming no ban, and keep a cover on it (fitted sheets work well) to try and keep it clean.

Well, you've decided against it, so good, but I would have filled it and just used the water for plant watering. Also, do you live in an area where the council has planted trees on the street and on the verges?

Many of them are in a sorry state and local people are being urged to water them by local online groups. If you could use the water for this when you needed to empty the pool, take out a bucket to a tree, that's fine. Also, you can use a bucket to flush a toilet, so if you gradually empty it by toilet flushing, why not fill it? Obviously if you have a disability, or are being followed about by a lively two year old, lugging buckets of water for toilet flushing isn't great, but otherwise it's water you wouldhave used anyway, so no harm done.

Btw. why do we have it so late? It's still 2 weeks until ban kicks in. I don't get it.Does anyone know?

PS. When we emptied the pool the other day, we did most of it with a washing up bowl and used it to water the plants and fruit trees in the garden. We're aware of the water shortage and trying not to be dicks about it!