AIBU to question no hosepipe ban exemption for people on benefits?

[Crosorbled]

No hosepipe ban for people on benefits .

This
I am not on any benefits as I am lucky enough to be able to work from home, but my medical condition gives me an exemption from the hosepipe ban.

If i lived alone I guess I might need to use it to water my plants (although in reality I am too ill to garden). But I can ask DH /DS to do any physical jobs do I would see it as morally wrong to abuse my exemption

Because if you've got to carry a full watering can from the tap to what you're watering, you're likely to get pretty fed up after three or four trips, so only do the minimum to keep your most previous plants alive.

If you use a house you'll water everywhere fairly generously as it takes little effort. So you'll use a lot more water.

If your kids have a paddling pool that you have to fill with a watering can, you're going to just fill it to a couple of inches at most, for splashing in. If you have a hosepipe you'll fill it deeper, because you can. So more water.

Many disabled people will not be able to carry a heavy watering can, so they're exempt.

It's really not that difficult to understand.

I don't know where you are. But I am on south coast and am definitely exempt due to disability but not on any benefits

That 69% of Mnetters voted YANBU, given no information whatsoever is not a good thing.🤯

It’s also highly likely that these posters used the search options on their phone/computer and did see all the numerous exemptions, many involving benefits.

As someone else mentioned, many benefits are a gateway to a two tier system.

It erodes the trust in the social contract.

As I mentioned upthread I am
extremely careful with my water use, and while I do think that the water industry is not fit for anything I realise water is a precious resource we take for granted.

And once again it’s up to me to make the effort when so many are exempt and don’t have to worry about their use of water.

We could hose our garden as neighbours can’t see what you are doing. The ones where the neighbours can see are generally those streets of tightly packed houses and new estates. DH was going to use the watering can when we get back tomorrow from holiday but I’m a good mind to use the hose now. They take us for fools

They take us for fools

Who? How?

The water companies

How do you think they're taking us for fools, though?

27 days without rain in some parts of England, and no sign of any on the way. So they're trying to conserve water by asking us to use less. They only have fairly blunt instruments to manage customer use, so a hosepipe ban is pretty much it.
They're aware that there are customers who simply can't use watering cans. Again, they only have a fairly blunt instrument to make exemptions, and exempting those registered for Water Sure is the simplest way.

Yes, some people will not actually need that exemption, but there's no way of the water companies filtering their information down to those physically unable to use a can.

@saraclara do you not think that in our watery country after a particularly wet winter that the water companies should be better able to manage 27 days without rain? In February, the met office recorded that England had received 35% above the long term meteorological average rainfall for winter 2025/26. Does that not make you wonder WTAF the water companies are doing with the stuff that falls for free from the sky that we can't manage 27 days without rain?

This exemption has been around since 1999

Have you been complaining about this 'two tier' nonsense for 27 years?

People should google beyond the benefit part.

Just do a higher tariff on high use, based on above average consumption for a family of the registered size.

People can choose whether they want to cut back on their daily sheets washing or watering their lawn as they see fit.

This whole concept of hosepipe bans relies on a minority of particularly diligent people electing to follow a non-enforced rule and worrying disproportionately about it, while everyone else ignores it. See also: BBC licence fees

Note: I have no dog in this fight because I'm too lazy to water my lawn anyway ;)

We’ve not had hosepipe ban until now so I never had the need to look it up.

how about the water companies manage the vast amount of free rainfall we get here in the UK better, so that we could manage 27 days without rain?!

It’s simpler than that. They have relaxed the rules for “Disabled people” because there are obviously some disabled people who can’t lift a watering can and/or do twenty trips to the end of the garden to water their flowers/crops.

The water companies don’t have the data information, or manpower to sift through and ascertain who this applies to, so they’ve had to apply it to all their ‘vulnerable’ customers. They have also asked that these vulnerable customers try to stick to the ban and not take the piss.

Two things can be true at the same time.

We have a huge problem with how we manage water and sewage in this country. It is partially due to private companies but also more importantly to do with the fact that it would be hugely expensive to fix the underlying infrastructure. If it was nationalised this problem would remain and there would be huge issues around raising and ultimately paying for the investment that is needed. This is an enormous problem and one that won't realistically be solved for many years or through simply changing who is in charge of our company.

We are experiencing global change and population increase that is putting additional strain on our already non fit for purpose infrastructure. This is exacerbating everything and we all have a role to play in managing our water consumption responsibly whilst we hopefully devise an effective method to tackle the infrastructure problems. Just because these problems exist, it doesn't somehow exonerate you from personal responsibility. It's like saying that you are going to drop all your litter on the floor because recycling centres aren't managing waste properly and other people litter.

Which simply tells us 69% of the voters didn’t check the facts before posting on your made up bollocks.

The exemptions have to be applied for individually in two areas I’ve checked and apply to people with medical conditions which require significant additional water use.

But well done on demonstrating why loons get elected by making nonsensical claims.

Unfortunately too many people believe that their exemption basically means that they don't need to use water as responsibly and in a similar way to those that are not exempt. So for example, lots of people will take a watering can to water flower beds but noone is watering grass with watering cans. There is absolutely no excuse for anybody to be using sprinklers and watering lawns. Disabled or not.

The abuse of the system always brings the whole thing into disrepute. It's like any kind of 'reasonable adjustment'. For the system to function, we need people only taking advantage of concessions when they are absolutely needed and not to take the piss but people can't help themselves and are often far too selfish. They justify it by blaming water companies etc but really they are acting completely irresponsible and selfishly.

Well, I'm currently collecting my shower water by standing in a huge tub when I shower so that I can use it to water my garden! I don't even have a hosepipe ban in my area, but it galls me to be paying for water twice over just to water my garden!!!! I'm all for personal responsibility. I'd like to see some corporate responsibility!

However, if the water companies had spent less on dividends for shareholders and huge bonuses and salaries for their chief execs and SMTs over the last 28 years, then there would have been a whole lot more cash for investing into the infrastructure and novel approaches to grey water usage. I'm presuming that the reason that there was an Independent Water Commission to look into the mismanagement by water companies is testament to this!

I think anyone perpetuating the nonsense in the OP would be better suited to the job of keeping their mouths shut tbh, as its a better fit for your skillset. Because clearly none of you are capable of reading on the subject before spouting twisted misinformation that makes you look like fools.

Is ‘two tier’ a new buzz phrase? I need to update my bingo card.

I agree completely. There should be personal and corporate responsibility. Instinctively it feels wrong to have privatised water companies but we also have to realistic about what would have happened if it has remained nationalised. It would have had to compete with other departments to gain investment and would have been considered relatively low priority. Best estimates are that £85 billion could have been redirected away from shareholders but realistically it's unlikely all of this would have been invested on water infrastructure. Also it would cost around £290 billion to sort out our system so it would fall well short and we would still have huge issues.

We are managing 27 days without rain. But that 'free' water will not last forever, and the water companies are managing it by asking us to only use what is absolutely necessary.
That's what water companies managing the supply looks like.

And the rain might be free, but the collecting it, treating it and delivering it to every property in the country is massively expensive.

How else would you describe a system which allows some people privileges over other people?

We need to identify and challenge all systems of this nature as they are obviously more open to abuse and unfairness. People seem totally happy to do this when the rich are given priority but a proportion of our population seem to think it's somehow morally wrong when it's the poor or disabled. To maintain integrity we must be consistent and make exemptions only when they're required. If you don't do this then resentment builds and the whole system breaks down. Ultimately if we enter a water crisis then those that are most vulnerable will suffer the most. We all have a part to play in stopping this from happening and that includes questioning systems that afford some people exemptions that don't need them.

Stupid post. Use your noggin! Hosepipe ban doesn't apply to those with a disability (who can't lug a watering can 20+ times around tge garden). Nothing to do with benefits.

Lots of disabled people can carry watering cans. What a strange, narrow minded post.

Also it applies to those who aren't disabled that have children under the age of 5 if they're on benefits.