to think the water companies need to buck their ideas up

[JenniferBooth]

SE water failures yet again. Even had the temerity to write to customers to tell them to be extra careful with their usage. I come under Anglian Water and we had three burst pipes in this part of Essex last week . I heard that my hairdresser had to empty her emersion tank so she could wash clients hair. She couldnt rebook because she is fully booked. Bad enough there is an aversion to air con in this country but now we are begrudged running water in a heatwave too.

https://www.kentlive.news/news/2220-south-east-water-customers-10994295?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawSLsQhleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETA4Zm1qNGIzeXIxR3JUc0Fjc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHi04JD6q0S9cvjxXDkf2GpK-I_cVtx8GpHxqOzCRA5v-5NwrEdk8F8g6eAOO_aem_es7mLQQNZOJZzCur8xZp4A#Echobox=178

its never ending

When water was sold off we had 50 more reservoirs, for a much reduced population and we did not have AI data centres literally sucking our water away... we also didn't pay £50 billion to shareholders. They took, sold off, neglected, run down work forces, polluted rivers, failed to deal with sewage and are so far behind adequate infrastructure, no amount of reducing use is going to make a difference, except to us users, as we are those paying for a service on the edge of implosion!!

When water was sold off we had 50 more reservoirs, for a much reduced population and we did not have AI data centres literally sucking our water away... we also didn't pay £50 billion to shareholders. They took, sold off, neglected, run down work forces, polluted rivers, failed to deal with sewage and are so far behind adequate infrastructure, no amount of reducing use is going to make a difference, except to us users, as we are those paying for a service on the edge of implosion!!

Overground reservoir are not the solution in hot weather it will evaporate we need to build aquifers

Clearly dont need waterbutts, but there could be some kind of device on the roof to use filtered rainwater for the toilets or over toilet sink to fill the cistern with hand-wash water there are many things that could be done that never are done then it becomes an issue and the hand wringing starts

Are we building aquifers?

Id go for that no problem but im not sure my housing association would . HAs are still refusing EV chargers

South West Water are guilty of 23 continous days of sewage release into Sidmouth waters and now there is the first ever...."Poo Patrol". Scary and very sad. I wont swim anywhere as it is too risky. MOst waterways and sea in UK are damaged due to these companies who are a law unto themselves

Im in Kent and there have been multiple cases of water shortages the last few months (both because of hot weather and because of pipes breaking down).
We all know alot of areas are building too many houses without considering the infrastructure.
The water companies need to address the issues as a priority....after all you cant tell me that having zero water isnt an emergency!

I already save as much as possible, my water bill is extremely low. I avoid flushing the loo, use grey water for plants, do everything I can....but I still have a stash of bottled water put by as I dont trust Southern Water not to cut me off at some point! 🙄

You don't build aquifers, they are a natural geological system. The south east of England is mostly supplied by water pumped via boreholes from the chalk aquifers. This is also the reason there are very few large rainwater storage reservoirs in this part of the country, as you tend to need the right type of geology which the south east does not generally have. You need impermeable bedrock like clay, granite or slate which is why the north and west of England has loads of this type of reservoir.
This mantra of build more reservoirs shows how little the general public understands about the UK water supply.

I was quoting your words.

Overground reservoir are not the solution in hot weather it will evaporate we need to build aquifers.

Not my words

Sorry!

I still disagree with the sentiment of your post though.

The public doesn’t know the first thing about reservoirs? Maybe. It’s not my job to know it.

What I can see is the the water industry is in a crisis that will get even worse and we all, the ones you know all about reservoirs and aquifers, and the ones who don’t will be in the shit.

Or imprisonment. What they are doing is criminal. Heavens, poor women get imprisoned for failing to pay minor fines. (Total disruption of their and their children's lives! ) But the super-rich criminals like the water company owners are allowed to continue with no penalty. We should be confiscating the companies with no compensation. Haven't they gained enough billions already without being given even more!

This is true if I had my way solar panels would be standard on new builds including housing association builds

I’m a water company employee and it’s hard we do a lot of good stuff but we also don’t do ourselves any favours. In the 20 + years I have worked in the industry I have never felt more disillusioned. Yes we are investing but not necessarily in the right areas,what doesn’t help is how the industry is funded in 5 yr periods so when things change ( like covid) we can’t react. We are also told how and on what we can spend our money. Someone said we use customer money to pay fines. Actually we can’t and penalities for not meeting our targets also can’t come from customer bills. We don’t get a say in planning, unless the EA ask for our opinion, our works, pipelines etc are all aging and maintenance hasn’t been done at the level required because we haven’t been funded for it. So yes we could do better, but a lot of the stuff said is untrue. I honestly believe everyone should visit a water and wastewater works and see what it actually takes to get water to your taps and sewage away from your homes

NC to join this thread. Also work for a water company and am so encouraged by the expertise being shown by other pp's on here.

I am new to the industry and don't work in operations so my technical knowledge is still limited but there is so much good that we ARE trying to do in the face of (some) public cynicism which means whatever message you try to campaign on you are faced with a barrage of "why should I when you are dumping shit?"

We are custodians of the water network and while there is a lot that has gone wrong, there is also a hell of a lot out of our control: agricultural run-off, fly-tipping, illegal developers' connections discharging raw sewage directly into the water course, people flushing wet wipes, restaurants pouring fat directly into the drains. If a developer wants to build an estate that will have negative impact on water/wastewater services or pressure, we have NO power to force a developer to collaborate with us for the best result... but legally have to provide the service for whatever poorly designed development gets built so get the blame for any water-related problems there.

I see a lot that's wrong but so much that is being done to improve things: smart meters and sniffer dogs to detect leaks, technology to remove forever chemicals and micro-plastics from the water, water recycling schemes, a third of our customers on discounted tariffs, and so much more.

We should be leading by example but we need customers with us though. Almost half of blockages are caused by wipes and period products. People pour liquid fat down the sink and think it's fine because it's liquid, ignoring the fact that once it hits a bundle of wet wipes down the pipes it will cool and solidify. I'm amazed that we STILL need to tell people to turn the tap off when brushing teeth.

I dont do any of that

@Waterworkerdo customers who cause a blockage get billed by the water company? A family a few doors up from me caused a blockage by flushing nappies down the toilet. This backed up and caused a real problem. The water company came out and removed the blockage, they were there all evening. I really hope that the perpetrators got the bill for that.

Well that's great, but unfortunately huge volumes of people and businesses do!

We all see people speeding in 20mph school zones, or smoking in the car with kids, or using sprinklers all day, or blasting loud music in their garden: there's a sizable portion of society who you can never educate out of their behaviour and treating water as a scarce resource, and being environmentally responsible, will never be on their radar!

I live in a housing association flat so i HAVE to be careful. I cant risk a blocked loo as a. they can take ages to do repairs/fuck you about/not turn up + i have bowel issues.

We have instances where recurrent blockages have been traced back to specific customers, eg one where medical supplies were constantly being found was traced back to a care home, and yes we've had homes being proved as the source of wipes.
I don't know about billing them though. There are so many areas where our hands are tied and we only have 'advisory' powers, it's depressing.

I sympathise. Like I say, and many others from the industry up thread have said, seeing from the inside the passion and commitment to turn things around is often very different to what the public experience day to day, and I can honestly say that I see that from the CEO downwards (and that's not something I've ever thought about any CEO before!)