Water Ban - What side are you on?

[heatwave2018]

The chance of a hosepipe ban is steadily increasing each hot day we have without rain. There seems to be two types of people.

One lot of people say we should be conserving water where needed ie showers instead of baths, only using a watering can or leaving the garden without water etc.

The other side I am seeing is people saying "I pay my water bills so I can use how much I want" ie filling up giant pools of water every few days, keeping the hosepipe on for a couple of hours to water the grass every night etc.

So what side are you on?

I'm obviously on the side of not being a dickhead and conserving water so there's enough for everyone.

That’s great! Have you seen many people acting on the other side using hosepipes etc

Water company in my area have said levels are above average and not expected to diminish considerably. We have therefore not adjusted our usage but we are not heavy water users anyway, it's more convenience we water with the hose than the can, it will get watered regardless it will just take us longer with a can.

www.eadt.co.uk/news/anglian-water-hosepipe-ban-suffolk-essex-1-5585861

What is your water company called ?

We see you, Rhiannonl . Are you the social media person for Northumbrian Water, perchance?

I live in the north and our utilities company has told us to conserve water hence why half of us are saying we pay our bills so I can use what I want and the others are saying to conserve water

I'm in the conserving water camp.
we collect water from showers/baths to water the plants that need it the most.
never use a hose anyway as it encouraged you to water too much. plus cold, chlorinated, hard water is not very good for most plants.

I'm not conserving water. I'll use as much as I like and then blame the government when the water runs out. (Only kidding, I actually get my water from a well and we have horses too who need a lot of water, so we have to self-police)

Will water companies not just share water out if there is a shortage? I would like to think they would but considering Anglian water are not advising us to conserve it doesn't sound likely, in which case there would be no incentive or anyone in EoE to conserve based on the heatwave.

What's your thoughts on swimming pools? I've seen a lot of them in my neighbours gardens!

We're in Northern Ireland and already have a hosepipe ban. Apparently it's not that there's a shortage of water (it rains a lot here normally) the problem is that the increased demand is putting a strain on the water treatment plants. They basically can't treat enough water fast enough for people to leave hosepipes running in their gardens. I can't see why anyone needs to water grass tbh. It's obviously nicer green and I imagine if you were a keen gardener you'd be a bit pissed off, but in the circumstances, I'd rather there was still water coming out of my taps than green grass.

I'm trying to use less water as I've moved from somewhere where I didn't pay for water (or hearing it) to a water meter

Don't know if there's talk of a hosepipe ban from Thames water though.

I have family in England who seem split on the issue. Some say that the utilities should fix the leaks, but then complain when the bills go up.

Here we have our own well so not an issue

Having lived in Africa although I don’t use a hosepipe I just cannot take any talk of water shortages after no rain for a few weeks seriously.

The issue isn’t the weather the issue is that we don’t utilise the water in this country properly. So old infrastructure means that thames water for instance lose up to a billion gallons of water a day through leakages. Equally we don’t have dambs to collect the water when it is raining and as such when it doesn’t we end up with shortages.

Just checked Thames water, apparently a burst main means there's no water or low pressure at home now.

There's one bottled water station over half an hour walk (no car) away in a hilly area, so that's nice...

I think the government should do more to ensure that utilities CEO and other important people don't get a massive bonus! They make a large profit and then make us pay for leaks and when they don’t fix the leaks tell us to stop using the water! Why don’t they just tell us when peak demand is and let people use the water outside these times!

We're water metered so haven't already paid for our water! Even without a meter, on the side of using water sensibly.

I've got thick hair, mind, so a shower doesn't really save much water for me unless I'm just having a quick hose down.

I'm obviously on the side of not being a dickhead

This!!

I'm old enough to remember queues for standpipes in 1976. And there will be others who been through similar when there have been other interruptions to the water supply.

If it runs out, it won't matter that you pay the bills, you'll still be walking and queuing for water. Reducing consumption now will mean that what is in the reservoirs will last that bit longer, thus reducing the risk that emergency, enforced restriction will be needed.

I suppose it's a case of whether you see yourself as part of a community, which needs to pull together when an acertable crisis is predicted, or if you are an 'I'm all right Jack' individualist who doesn't care about environmental consequence of their choices,

OP, I’ve seen similar comments on social media, where people are saying they pay for it, so they’ll take what they want. People would soon be in uproar if the rich applied that logic to everything.

Too many of the latter it seems EdithWeston.
Some people live in a fantasy world totally disconnected from reality.

No one should ever waste water, but I object hugely to my water company losing millions of gallons through leaks. They don't spend money on repairs because they have shareholders who need their dividends. [Angry]

So why should I struggle just to make the rich even richer?

We have well water and I grew up with well water. Twice in my lifetime (I'm late 40s) we've completely run out of water and had to fill tubs from the river when we wanted to put the washing machine on or have a shower. Both times it was hot dry summers like this, so I'm already a bit nervous, despite being totally brought up to not waste water.

I live near reservoirs- they were built over 100 yrs ago, to serve an area that was hugely less populated and a time when we didn't have washing machines or dish washers etc. Even if every leak was fixed there would still be shortages in this weather. The reservoirs are getting low. I totally agree that money should be spent on repairs and updating rather than fat cat salaries. But EVERYONE should have a water meter and think about how much water they use - especially in this weather.

There is no issue with water levels in my area. The issue is that they can't treat it fast enough. So the water companies should build more water treatment plants. To have adequate water but not have the mechanisms in place to make it safe is something that they can change but they won't due to the cost. Given that that is what I pay for water for it needs to be fixed.

If there was a water shortage due to lack of rain that would be a different story as it would be outside their control. However, the situation as is is entirely within their control to change, but they won't do anything about it.