Hosepipe ban

menamestom · June 2018

Watering my lawn is something I never usually do, but this morning I had the hose pipe handy so started sprinkling the parched areas. Then I thought, the pressure is low, demand is probably massive and the heat is almost unprecedented, so I stopped and though. Does it really matter if my lawn is green? Especially since fires are raging 15 miles away on the moors.

Chalky · June 2018

Let's be clear. Water companies LIKE hosepipe bans. It allows them to act like they are the victim to the regulator and critics. "We are doing great, its the wasteful public who are the problem".

sev112 · June 2018

I’ve decided that having the grass long and green just encourages the b^^^^^^ ants to dig it all up in their massive colonies,

so im letting them get parched by keeping it short and dry, at the same time as ant powdering the perimeter of the house.

im not even gonna pour boiling water on them - I reckon they’ll drink it up and welcome it !

JezWynd · June 2018

Chalky said:

Let's be clear. Water companies LIKE hosepipe bans. It allows them to act like they are the victim to the regulator and critics. "We are doing great, its the wasteful public who are the problem".

That's a stretch. Logic would say they don't like them, esp if they meter their customers, as they'll make less profit.

Hattigol · June 2018

sev112 said:

In the past week we’ve had 2 invasions of ants - once in the bathroom (on the upstairs floor!) and once in the kitchen, both cases they appear to be looking for water- anyone ever come across this before ?

What was about the ants' demeanour that made you conclude this? Were they just looking very very thirsty?

sev112 · June 2018

Hattigol said:

sev112 said:

In the past week we’ve had 2 invasions of ants - once in the bathroom (on the upstairs floor!) and once in the kitchen, both cases they appear to be looking for water- anyone ever come across this before ?

What was about the ants' demeanour that made you conclude this? Were they just looking very very thirsty?

That most of them were around the sinks and shower / bath rather than any obvious food, crumbs etc

WezV · June 2018

Chalky said:

Let's be clear. Water companies LIKE hosepipe bans. It allows them to act like they are the victim to the regulator and critics. "We are doing great, its the wasteful public who are the problem".

How much time do people actually spend criticising water companies?

I would place a safe bet that 99.9% of the criticism they receive only occurs in times of water shortage.

blobb · July 2018

Chalky said:

Let's be clear. Water companies LIKE hosepipe bans. It allows them to act like they are the victim to the regulator and critics. "We are doing great, its the wasteful public who are the problem".

Guff.

Those that have the resources available are investing multiple millions of pounds on continuity of supply projects to divert water from plentiful areas into the ones that go short. Why? Because hosepipe bans are a massive public relations disaster and the regulatory model penalises poor customer service (have you ever tied to call BT?). Just remember, every time you moan about water companies you are moaning about real people with jobs who work around the clock under extreme pressure to make sure the water you get is safe and as available as it can be. by all means have a dig at the businessmen who have swamped the industry in recent times but their job is to make profit, 'cos profit makes the world go round.

..and they take all your shit away too - including all your cotton buds, condoms & sanitary towels (put them in the bin!) - for peanuts in real cash terms.

Jez6345789 · July 2018

I think there is a big difference between now and 76 and that’s now water is in private ownership owned by large corporations.

So when I see some stupid corporate mouth piece telling me we need to all work together or get a free egg timer for the shower to time and reduce my water usage my answer is F you.

in certain places privatisation may of been a good thing in utilities it was not.

its been the worst excess of state sanctioned corporate greed. fat cats and big dividends funded off the land assets transferred to private ownership.

so usual 6 minute shower for me.

rant over

Chalky · July 2018

blobb said:

Chalky said:

Let's be clear. Water companies LIKE hosepipe bans. It allows them to act like they are the victim to the regulator and critics. "We are doing great, its the wasteful public who are the problem".

Guff.

Those that have the resources available are investing multiple millions of pounds on continuity of supply projects to divert water from plentiful areas into the ones that go short. Why? Because hosepipe bans are a massive public relations disaster and the regulatory model penalises poor customer service (have you ever tied to call BT?). Just remember, every time you moan about water companies you are moaning about real people with jobs who work around the clock under extreme pressure to make sure the water you get is safe and as available as it can be. by all means have a dig at the businessmen who have swamped the industry in recent times but their job is to make profit, 'cos profit makes the world go round.

..and they take all your shit away too - including all your cotton buds, condoms & sanitary towels (put them in the bin!) - for peanuts in real cash terms.

I'm sensing a bias there ("...moaning about real people with real jobs working round the clock under extreme pressure..."). Some connection to the water industry maybe? Or just a bit of hyperbole? You make water workers sound more dedicated than firemen, paramedics, police, nurses, A&E staff and doctors all rolled into one.

How about a simple question. As a percentage of average total water consumption, domestic and industrial, how much does a hosepipe ban typically save?

Kilgore · July 2018

I bought a bag of ice from the Co-op the other day. On the front of the bag it said.

'Made With British Water'

Legionreturns · July 2018

Nobody *needs* a lush, green lawn.

Water a few flowerbeds, sure, but the grass will recover when we get some rain. All the wild / common grassland is currently brown and nobody is going to water them.

It's easy to spot the selfish, entitled pricks at the moment just by looking at lawns. If you want green all year round, get astroturf.

Jez6345789 · July 2018

Legionreturns said:

Nobody *needs* a lush, green lawn.

Water a few flowerbeds, sure, but the grass will recover when we get some rain. All the wild / common grassland is currently brown and nobody is going to water them.

It's easy to spot the selfish, entitled pricks at the moment just by looking at lawns. If you want green all year round, get astroturf.

And why not I have spent a fortune getting a gardener who can keep my lawn striped and manicured I sacked two last year and even more on a wireless controlled sprinkler for each zone and the fountain and waterfall.

plus I pay the water company for the privilege

and do my housekeeper will be jet washing this weekend

lol

Kilgore · July 2018

My neighbour has a garden full of foul smelling weeds. He keeps watering them. I can't understand why.

darthed1981 · July 2018

Kilgore said:

My neighbour has a garden full of foul smelling weeds. He keeps watering them. I can't understand why.

I don't like my neighbour's kids either...

Fretwired · July 2018

Legionreturns said:

Nobody *needs* a lush, green lawn.

Water a few flowerbeds, sure, but the grass will recover when we get some rain. All the wild / common grassland is currently brown and nobody is going to water them.

It's easy to spot the selfish, entitled pricks at the moment just by looking at lawns. If you want green all year round, get astroturf.

What about the lawn? Won't somebody think about the lawn.

We have enough water in the UK just useless water companies. When they were privatised they promised to bring efficiency. Instead they have brought unsustainable levels of debt that, one way or another, the public will have to redeem. Researchers at Greenwich University say that in the past decade, the nine companies have made £18.8 billion of post-tax profits. Far from using the money to make the water system better, they have paid out £18.1 billion in dividends, and financed investment through loading £42 billion of debt on to consumers.

The university estimates the English are paying £2.3 billion more a year in water and sewerage bills than if the utility companies had remained in state ownership. These costs might have been bearable in good times, but as the Brexit-induced fall in the pound pushes real wages back down again, the prices of water, gas and electricity are bound to be political issues. Customers may not be overly keen to subsidise shareholders and lavishly overpaid managers.

These companies have invested very little in real terms. Where I live we need at least one new reservoir. The water company says it can't afford one. The reality is all its profits go overseas rather than invest in what is required in the UK.

Hosepipe ban .. my arse. This is the 21 century. There shouldn't be any hosepipe bans anywhere.

Legionreturns · July 2018

The companies should be fined heavily by the regulator for instigating a ban due to poor management.

That doesn't alter the fact that your lawn is not more important than my kids being able to drink and wash.

Fretwired · July 2018

Legionreturns said:

The companies should be fined heavily by the regulator for instigating a ban due to poor management.

That doesn't alter the fact that your lawn is not more important than my kids being able to drink and wash.

Do people really water their lawns? I have a large lawn and one benefit of this weather is it doesn't grow so I don't have to mow it - I've never watered my lawn even when there's been plenty of water. None of my neighbours water their lawns either. We don't have a hosepipe ban yet. Looks like its coming in at the end of next week.

Bridgehouse · July 2018

Jez6345789 said:

and do my housekeeper will be jet washing this weekend

Do you not let them use the shower then?

DefaultM · July 2018

vasselmeyer said:

I know the utility companies need to get their act together to fix leaks, but the number of self-entitled pricks I've heard saying, "I pay for it so I'll use it how I want" is pissing me off.

Use electricity as much as you want as there's rarely a shortage of that, but water is a completely different matter and it needs to be carefully conserved when we're asked.

It's not like people are saying they pay for it so they want to be able to run their taps and just watch it come out for fun.
Private companies own the supplying of water, we pay them a significant amount of money each month to do so. They're telling us the water needs to be carefully conserved, but at the same time there's leaking pipes all over the country that haven't been fixed, and don't seem to be getting fixed either.

Imagine you go in to a bar and order a beer, the landlord tells you that the beer needs to be carefully conserved so he's going to take your money but you can't have the beer. Then you get a quick glance in to the back and there's shit loads of beer pissing out of barrels all over the place and people are just stood round shrugging their shoulders at it.

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