Latest news with #hosepipeban
BBC News
5 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Residents 'rightly frustrated' over Thames Water hosepipe ban
The leader of a council affected by a hosepipe ban has said "people are tired of the same old excuses" from the water company. Thames Water introduced the hosepipe ban for customers in north Wiltshire, east Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire on Tuesday. Jim Robbins, who leads Swindon Borough Council, said he was "really disappointed" by the ban, adding that the company had prioritised pay-outs to shareholders over "making sure the water supply for customers is there where it needs to be".Thames Water said the restriction was due to a lack of rain and increasing demand and added leakage in the network was at its "lowest ever level". While the company did not respond directly to Mr Robbins' comments, it added that it was using "innovative technology" to fix leaks faster, with 650 leaks fixed each however now face a fine of up to £1,000 if they are found to use of a hosepipe for activities such as watering the garden, washing the car or filling a paddling pool. Thames Water has been fined millions of pounds and heavily criticised for a series of leaks and Robbins, who has been highly critical of the company in the past, said: "I think residents are rightly frustrated that this is an organisation that hasn't made the investment that it needs to over the past 20 years or so since it's been privatised. "People are tired of the same old excuses... after years of failure and them not doing the hard work to make sure they maintain people's supply and keep our rivers clean."It's consistently prioritised taking money out of the business... but there is no evidence they have done the work of making sure that the water supply for customers is there where it needs to be." 'Doing everything we can' The hosepipe ban was announced last week and came into force at midnight on Tuesday - covering some 1.1 million people. The temporary restrictions cover areas with postcodes beginning with OX, GL, SN, RG4, RG8 and RG9.A number of other water companies around the country have announced similar hosepipe bans, though none of those are in the West or South West. Announcing the restrictions, Nevil Muncaster, Thames Water's strategic water resources director said: "I'd like to reassure all our customers that we are doing everything we can to look after our water resources and to protect the environment through this continued warm, dry weather."Our engineers are working 24/7 to maintain supply to all our customers and we have more teams out in the field fixing leaks, which often increase during long dry spells because of shifts in the ground that move our pipes. "We all have a role to play in reducing our water use and customers can help us by saving water around the home and in the garden."
BBC News
17 hours ago
- Climate
- BBC News
No timeframe for Thames Water hosepipe ban to end, says company
A water company has said it can't say when a hosepipe ban will come to an end because it is "generally waiting for rain".Thames Water announced a ban last week which has come into effect for customers with postcodes beginning with OX, GL, SN, RG4, RG8 and follows bans from Yorkshire Water, Southern Water and South East Water and affects almost 1.1 million people in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Tucker, demand reduction manager at Thames Water, said he appreciates how frustrating it is when water use is restricted and there are many leaks at the same time, but said the company is "doing everything they can to deal with it". The unusual dry spell and heatwaves over the past few months triggered the ban and some residents and businesses in Berkshire have told the BBC it is "restrictive and difficult". Professional gardener Janet Wood said: "It is difficult because sometimes we only go to our customers' gardens once a week, sometime fortnightly."If they aren't watering then that makes it very difficult for us, because everything is dying by the time we visit again."It can be very depressing to see."Ms Wood explained that if gardeners are "lucky" then "our customers have invested in a drip system" - which are very small hoses that drip water gradually into the flower said: "These are very economical, effective and not part of the hosepipe ban."Otherwise, we have to hope our customers are using a watering can and are giving every plant a good dose of water, at least twice a week.""The situation is very frustrating," she added."We need to be looking at drought-proof plants that can withstand longer periods without water and finding ways to be economical with water because it is something we are going to have to deal with more in the future." Kevin Browne, vice-chairman and honorary treasurer of Henley-on-Thames Bowling Club, said the ban means the club is "restricted" even though they are a sports added that Thames Water has been "very ambiguous" with its explained that the club has a "delightful green lawn" which looks healthy because there has been "plenty of rain in the last few days"."If we have the weather we have had over the last three months then it will give us lots of problems and could be restrictive," he added."We have a number of areas in the lawn where it goes really brown, particularly where our sprinklers don't cover the lawn properly, but we can water those patches with the watering can."He said the club has been told by Thames Water that "if things really get dire then they would be sympathetic to us using our sprinklers".And Mr Browne is hopeful the club won't be badly impacted. "With the weather the way it is now we are not going to be affected in any major way whatsoever," he said. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
a day ago
- Climate
- BBC News
Hosepipe ban remains despite heavy rainfall
A hosepipe ban will remain in force across Yorkshire despite recent heavy rainfall, the region's water company has ban, which stops people using hosepipes for activities such as watering the garden, washing the car or filling a paddling pool, was brought in amid an extended spell of very hot, dry weather across Kaye, from Yorkshire Water, said although rain at the weekend was "very welcome" it was "not going to improve things to a level where reservoir stocks recover".Previously, the company's chief executive said restrictions, which apply to customers across much of Yorkshire, parts of North Lincolnshire and parts of Derbyshire, were expected to remain until winter. When the hosepipe ban was announced earlier this month, Yorkshire Water said reservoir levels stood at just over 50% - a record low for the time of the year and "significantly below" the average for early July, which is nearer 80%.Mr Kaye said some parts of the region experienced more than 20mm of rain (0.8in) over Saturday and Sunday, which had helped slow the weekly decline of reservoirs. However, he added: "We've had five months of below long-term average rainfall in Yorkshire, so one weekend is not going to improve things to a level where reservoir stocks recover, as we continue to supply more than 1.2bn litres of water to customers every day."Crucially the rain has also replenished rivers and groundwater, meaning we can increase our abstraction from rivers and groundwater to reduce pressure on reservoirs.""Despite the rain over the weekend and early part of this week, the hosepipe restrictions remain in place in our region."
BBC News
a day ago
- Climate
- BBC News
Hosepipe bans: How are they enforced?
Millions of people in England are facing temporary hosepipe bans this summer, following the country's driest start to the year since bans - also known as Temporary Use Bans - are introduced by water companies during periods of high demand or low supply. Four companies have so far issued bans - Southern Water, Yorkshire Water, Thames Water and South East breaking the rules could be fined up to £1,000 - but how are the rules enforced? Caroline Loup, a garden landscaper who lives in Overton, Hampshire, where Southern Water's hosepipe ban has just begun, said people should be encouraged "to be nosy neighbours" to make sure the rules were being followed - but she wouldn't report someone."This ban isn't going to work unless everybody does their part," she said. "I'd probably go up to them and say, 'Have you heard about the ban?' I'd rather be up front than snoop on a neighbour."Ms Loup said action had to be taken by the water companies, including fining people who had broken the rules to deter others. "There needs to be some teeth behind the action." On the Isle of Wight, also supplied by Southern Water, gardener Tim Parry said he had received calls from "very emotional" clients who were worried about their gardens and the "intimidating" prospect of a said one client of his, a 90-year-old lady, asked him: "Do I have to walk a watering can up my garden? I don't think I can do that.""They don't want their neighbour looking out a window and thinking, 'She's out there with a hose'."He said he would be helping customers follow the rules because "our gardens aren't as important as the environment". Fines are a 'last resort' The BBC asked the four water companies whether they had ever issued fines for Yorkshire Water directly answered this, saying it had never issued a single fine and would prefer not to do so, instead asking customers to "respect" the company said it had received at least 100 reports of people who had continued to use hosepipes since the ban came into effect for more than five million households on 11 July. "If we are told repeatedly about someone breaking the restrictions, the first thing we do is remind them of their obligations - that is usually enough," a spokesperson said."However, if they continue to use a hosepipe, we may escalate our enforcement accordingly."The other three suppliers did not say if they had ever issued fines, but they all said enforcement would be the very final Water will first write to a customer who has been reported for using their hosepipe to remind them of the ban. The company said it might take enforcement action for "repeated or serious breaches". On its website, South East Water says prosecution is "very much a last resort" and "something no company wants to have to do".Police have told people not to contact them to report breaches of the ban, and instead to report them to their water company directly. But Thames Water has said customers do not need to report breaches at all, adding that it "may get in touch with customers who repeatedly don't follow the rules... just to make sure they're aware of the restrictions and how to use water responsibly".Trade body Water UK said it was not aware of anyone having ever been fined for using a hosepipe, though it did not hold data. But some people are exempt from the ban - those who are registered disabled, blue badge holders, and those who have paid a business to sow a lawn in the last 28 Meredith is a blue badge holder who lives in Oxford, where Thames Water's ban has now has mobility issues that restrict him from using a watering can - which is allowed during the ban - rather than a hosepipe to water his said the onus should not be on blue badge holders to make sure neighbours are aware they are allowed to continue using hosepipes if they decide to."I would not be uncomfortable using a hosepipe during a hosepipe ban," he said, adding that it would depend on what the weather was like or whether someone was around to help. Are warnings enough? Yorkshire Water said since the ban came into effect its customers' water usage dropped by about 26m gallons (100m litres) in just two days - without issuing a single fine and despite more than 100 reports of people flouting the rules. Dr Sianne Gordon-Wilson, who is currently looking into which factors can convince people to save water, said "peer influence" was the biggest driver."It's all about the friends and the social network," the assistant professor in marketing at Queen Mary University of London told the BBC."If they're saying it's something that you can do, it's not too much work, or it can be quite easy... then that is the most influential factor." Nicci Russell, chief executive of water-conservation charity Waterwise, said more had to be done to make the public aware of water scarcity. "We are running out of water right across the UK," she said. "There is nothing you can think of from the minute you wake up until the minute you go to bed that doesn't need water."She added that while her organisation did not advise people to report their neighbours, hosepipe bans did encourage the public to think about how they could save water. Additional reporting by Alys Davies and Michael Sheils McNamee
The Independent
a day ago
- Business
- The Independent
Water companies reveal why they haven't issued a single hosepipe ban fine
Major water companies in England, including Southern Water and Thames Water, have not issued any fines for breaches of hosepipe bans over the last five years. Despite having the legal power to fine up to £1,000, companies say they have relied on public goodwill for compliance during multiple bans imposed since 2020. Campaigners argue that water companies' own failings, such as leaking pipes and underinvestment, pose a greater threat to supplies than household water use. The water sector faces scrutiny over a 60 per cent rise in serious pollution incidents in 2024, prompting government plans to overhaul regulation and scrap Ofwat. Experts warn that the UK is running out of water, stressing the need for broader solutions beyond hosepipe bans, including everyone reducing water waste.
