Wasting water in a heatwave. Private schools keeping grounds green with sprinklers..

[ifonlytheydlisten]

I’ve seen this twice now this week whilst everywhere else has bans or people just accepting grass will be hay and water in short supply. Opposite end of spectrum to wild wire concerns and grassland burning near us. Do they have wierd exception? Is it just me that it really winds me up as entitled? It’s made me really annoyed.

This is too simplistic. The water companies must tell Ofwat how much they want to invest and every time Ofwat says no and caps them at a lower amount.

New water sources take time. When Thames Water proposed a new reservoir in 2010, Defra blocked it as unnecessary. Then in 2024 govt decided it must be done urgently.

We have the worst combo of state and private in how we run water in the UK.

Anyone with a private water supply (like a borehole or private rainwater retention) is exempt from the hosepipe ban.

If you ban them too, you will disincentivise people from making their own arrangements and leave even more demand on our mains system.

The rules in my area allow you to water new turf for 28 days after it’s been laid - check the rules for your area but it’s probably allowed.

The private schools aren’t just using sprinklers. They’re actually watering the grass with unicorn tears.

You wouldn’t get any of that sort of wicked behaviour down the local comp.

I don't think the ban includes businesses just the public, there was mention this week of banning some business use of water like car washes and private swimming pools which are those in gyms and holiday parks so probably watering of businesses grass would come under that if it come in

the bitterness towards private schools know no bounds!

a lot of grass roots football and rugby will be delayed in September as the pitches are dangerously hard. Astro slots will be at a premium

What’s the difference though. If you are using a can to water enough then you are using the same water

There are all sorts of exemptions - for newly planted trees, and newly laid turf. If you have an underground irrigation system with a pressure-reducing valve, you’re allowed to use it. Likewise, if you’re disabled, you’re allowed to use a hose to water your garden. Because we aren’t used to hosepipe bans, the laws are somewhat flawed and inconsistent. The thing that makes me really angry, far more than schools watering their fields, is water leaks that just carry on unabated because the water companies haven’t got round to fixing them. When you read how much water is wasted through leaks - the water authority where I live loses over 185 million litres of water every DAY - our water saving efforts seem to be something of a drop in the bucket.

@ shockmethen -
There are several reasons for making people use buckets -

1. It makes people aware of how much water they’re using
2. With an hose, people will leave it running on a lawn or garden - you can’t do that with a bucket.
3. While you can fill a small paddling pool with a bucket, you’d be hard pressed to fill some of the larger pools that people have.

The issue is that they often have massive grounds and it’s not only the sports pitches they are watering. I know having had 2 sons go through. The grass on site cost the school hundred of thousands to maintain to the standard they kept it at.

I know little about golf but I’m assuming the greens are not just random grass. I expect they are highly maintained. Businesses have different exceptions as the cost to them of not using the water would cripple them.

They are using processed drinking water.

The issue this year isn’t reservoirs, they were full after a very wet winter and spring.
It’s that water companies don’t have additional capacity for processing water due to increased demand ( ie everyone watering gardens and filling pools) in hot weather.

Keeping grass green is no way akin to a business that needs to use water.

Who the hell lays new turf in the middle of a burning hot summer when it hasn't rained properly in many places for over a month? People who like to burn money?

Who will presumably be paid whether the school’s frontage is watered or not?

Oh come on, people don't compare to state schools because it is so so far from what state schools can afford. We've had the same patchy grass for years because we don't have enough space to keep children off it for long enough for the grass to grow. Any grass seed we've had has been paid for by staff or the PTA and then scattered and watered by teachers - our school has a cleaner but no caretaker for jobs like that. We have a single rubbish hose that barely reaches any parts of the playground. It is laughable that we would have even a member of staff to go and turn on a sprinkler throughout the holidays.

They might be laid off, you don’t know that.

Or maybe the highly regulated and respected car washes PP uses can also keep their workers even if their water use is restricted?

People who are inconsiderate enough to tell us they are doing us and the environment a favour by watering their new lawn, that’s who.

Yep, such a sad, bitter little thread. People are still, as far as I know, allowed to pay for education and healthcare without being imprisoned. And the posters here are the same who refuse to have the phone alert and refused to comply during Covid. Now they are all about 'doing our bit for the greater good' just a bunch of angry, jealous hypocrites who cant afford the things they dream of.

There is a public roundabout close to where I live that has a sprinkler in the middle and it's on whenever I pass by. It is infuriating when everyone else is not supposed to use hose pipes or sprinklers. This will be the council.

It hasnt rained properly in months, hosepipe bans started in some areas over a month ago. Did you really think it was a good time to lay a lawn?

I think you’ve missed my point. I understand why the hose pipe ban is there. Private schools are subject to the same rules as everyone else. If the poster thinks they are breaching those rules, she can report them. However, I’d be surprised if a school was stupid enough to do that. It’s likely that they are either watering sports pitches (which they’re allowed to do under health and safety grounds, the same as other sports pitches), or they have a borehole/rainwater harvesting system. State schools are allowed to do exactly the same if they wanted.

Golf clubs are generally only watering the greens, not the fairways, and cricket clubs are generally only watering the wicket, not the outfield. Again, allowed under the exemptions.

I don’t know why people jump on private schools at every opportunity. The operate under the same rules as everyone else.

I think they are legally allowed to water sports pitches. Morally it's more questionable. It's the summer holidays and kids can still play football on a dry pitch in September.

However, private schools are businesses, and a big part of their business offering is their extracurricular options. A dried-out pitch might put off parents ("let's not go with this one, dear, the pitches at St Swithin's look much nicer"). So they are probably considering that.

Theres a huge new build mini mansion near me with a two foot strip of grass along the front wall. I cycle past it and its been heavily watered every single morning, water running over the road from it. There are some really entitled arseholes out there. Leave the water for the farmers.

As an example, you cannot play cricket on a dried out wicket. It’s simply not safe. I don’t know any cricket clubs/schools watering their outfields though, unless they have boreholes etc.

While I agree the need for hosepipe bans is unreasonable in the UK, is the island bit relevant? We can't use sea water for the things we want water for (except, perhaps, saltwater swimming pools).