Hose pipe ban

[matt_london]

<PRE>My Dad was telling me that there is going to be a hose pipe ban starting 1st april. So far he has not received any official notification and only heard about it from news programmes on radio and tv. Unless the water company actually write to him about it surely he can not be prosecuted if he does use a hose pipe? After all, you can't believe everything you hear on the news or read in the papers... also these days most people have hose's that have a trigger action to release water so they are not left on constantly like they use to so is there any real need for a ban?</PRE>

[Lonnie]

Yes, this was on the news, the ban is for Southeast England, and is being imposed by the company that loses more water through leakage than any other, Thames Water, as for official notification, i;m not in this area, but whenever we have a ban, its given out in the free papers, no special leaflet pushed through the door.

[stoo_pid]

You don't say where you live but if you're in the south-east chances are you'll be affected. Thames Water have announced a ban from April. Click here for more info. There are already bans in areas served by Sutton and East Surrey Water, South East Water, Southern Water, Mid Kent Water, and Cholderton and District Water. Click here for more info

I would have thought that all a water company has to do is announce it, not necessarily by letter. Having said that the last time I was in an area affected by a hosepipe ban we were sent a leaflet.

And yes, unfortunately, there is a need for a ban. Hoses uses considerably more water than watering cans or buckets, with or without a trigger control

[stoo_pid]

doh! your name might have given me a clue Matt : - )

[sense4all]

Three Valleys too!

[WendyS]

Unfortunately I don't think there is a legal obligation for the water companies to write and notify every customer of the ban individually. There is a definite need for a ban in the Southeast, but I also think the water companies could do a lot more to conserve water. Most of them will issue free "Hippos", (a bag -like gadget you can put in your toilet cistern to reduce the amount of water delivered with every flush) but instead of mailing them out to all their customers, you have to contact the water boards and ask for one. Consequently a lot of customers don't even know this facility exists.