AIBU to be angry about hosepipe bans and whether people will comply?

[liquidfinch]

AIBU to be so angry about the hosepipe bans and the situation we find ourselves in?!

If we keep having these heatwaves AND hosepipe bans the future is going to become utterly unbearable.

I read somewhere that it's not even about us running out of water this year! The water companies are just worried about having to supply what we need because it will impact their environmental targets (they want to reduce water use per capita).

If they don't hit these targets it could reduce their bonuses and/or they might be fined.

These bans will have enormous adverse impacts on nature and ecosystems.

If we can't water our gardens, plants and parks wildlife will suffer. Pollinators especially. I think it's appalling.

Are you ready for the hosepipe ban?

Have you taken any measures (buying water butts, filling up pools) to mitigate the impact this will have on your normal routine/enjoyment of your home/garden/life?

Most importantly: are you going to comply?

• Cambridge Water:

Active as of July 9, and enforceable from 1am on Friday, July 17.

• Southern Water:

Enforced starting from 1am on July 11.

• South East Water:

Enforced starting from July 18.

The UK hasn't built a new reservoir for decades. I suspect privatising the water companies may have diverted focus from providing water to making profits.

Not at all, I think a wholesale move away from fossil fuels is needed. But I'm not the one muttering darkly on the internet about fatcat shareholders when I'm reaping the benefits of being one of those fatcat shareholders.

"Trees don't user surface water" as if all trees are the same and all root systems are the same.

Do you actually know anything about trees or are you relying on AI summaries and google result headlines?

I’m happy to use a watering can I infuse the grey water from the bath fur my plants.

What worries me though is that there is no planning.

The population is surging, new buildings are popping up
everywhere. Where is the water going to come from for all of this with the climate change?

All the water companies care about is profit, most of which goes to overseas investors and extracting water from the rivers.

No investment, no solving the sewage problem.

I didn't say it was. But do you not think they should be putting in the infrastructure to cope with current demands (they haven't) let alone increasing ones? It's literally their job to provide us with water, and they don't. I don't know where you are but it's pretty bad here.

Not to defend them completely ( leakage needs to be sorted). But water companies are not a consultee on planting applications unless the EA or council ask for their opinion so if new builds are built in a low capacity area they just have to manage it as best they can. Not helped by their investment being funded on a 5 yr programme

You need to contact your water company and request to be put on their Priority Service list

^This.

Those saying pfft I won’t comply… well you will be. You’ll be made to. We will probably need to buy bottled drinking water depending how we use it.

To answer OP, we have water butts. I’ll use the hose to fill the pool but I’ve only done this once as DD wasn’t bothered and it’s not a huge pool.

I do actually have waterbutts 6 in fact.

Food crops are exempt which is a lot of our garden so my only naughty would be topping up the pool.

Which I guess I could do with the watering can since the taps next to the pool 😅

There is a low supply where I live, last night some people didn’t have any water on our road for a few hours, we’ve had a hosepipe ban since 23rd June.
my next door neighbour is always out with his hose, watering his grass, washing his car, washing his shitty driveway, washing whatever he can find, he’s a selfish idiot.

You really think the government would have invested more in water supply? Given all the cuts in everything else? And that they're driving through their building schemes despite being told water supply will be an issue? No chance.

I read a lot of official documents about this when Corbyn had renationalisation in his manifesto and actually changed my view. A pp is right that most people are shareholders in the water companies via their pension.

You're saying this as if I've picked what goes into my pension?

Here's my view:

1. Dear fatcat shareholders, please take your dirty money and stick it up your arse.
2. Dear pension administrators, please remove water companies from my pension portfolio.

Is there a way to do this by contacting the private pension provider?

Seriously, if you know a way of doing it, please tell us.

Trees int he countryside don't get watered and manage absolutely fine.

The hose pipe ban doesn't impact them and hasn't for thousands of years

Are you seriously saying water a tree in your garden is more important than people having access to safe drinking water without supply interruptions or issues?

Of course. You absolutely can self-invest your own pension and choose what it's invested in if you want.

fill the water butt up with your hosepipe today

Such mismanagement.
its basically rained for
months.

I use the grey waste water from washing up to water my garden. As a previous poster said it takes a while but it's keeping me fit!

I’d be more inclined to comply if they sorted their bloody leaks out and kept our seas clean

Does this mean taking my pension funds out and putting it all into a self managed one? Or that I can influence how my current private pension provider allocates my funds?

Done alot of water saving myself but it just seems to enable the companies not to supply/invest etc. They need to use the profits to improve things - not pay shareholders. They shouldn't be allowed to extract water and should be forced to build water storage facilities!

You will need to use Google and talk to your pension provider.

We had a water leak on our lane, thousands and thousands of gallons pouring down the drain for months on end before they came to fix it. They can shove their hosepipe bans, I will continue to use the water I pay for and will not be inconveniencing myself due to their appalling mismanagement and incompetence.

Not sure about your pension but my company pension I can chose how I want the funds invested

Ive applied for an exemption and got added to their priority user list but no mention in the letter about any exemption. I cant use a watering can due to disability. We dont have a lawn or pool, its watering my plants that I use it for. I wont comply as I cant.

I'm about a mile outside the Southern Water ban area, but it doesn't matter.

I had a grey water system installed a few years ago. We have a manual switch that sends all the shower and basin water into our water butts. That's about 75 litres a day which is easily enough for our veggies beds, greenhouse, pots and borders. I switch it over in spring (March this year) and back in October. It saves me about £250 a year.

Water companies seem to be managed by greedy selfish incompetent idiots so I'll deal with our water usage myself.