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Just Another Sticking Plaster
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What a load of toss banning hosepipes. A few years back the government encouraged us to have energy saving combi boilers, well these boilers have been wasting water by the billions of gallons for many years, a fraction of what some may use on their garden.
Anytime of day you call for hot water that boiler will run off about 2/3 lts of cold before it comes through hot or there about's.
Not to mention the so called water saving toilet cisterns that don't work.
Anytime of day you call for hot water that boiler will run off about 2/3 lts of cold before it comes through hot or there about's.
Not to mention the so called water saving toilet cisterns that don't work.
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I doubt many people carry a bucket round the house to catch the excess cold water from a boiler until the hot comes through. But there,s one thing for sure,no sooner this hot spell is over it will be pie in the sky and the water companies will just carry on filling their back pockets and ignore any investment to contain more supplies.
//Hosepipe bans are very effective at saving water.//
Yes they are.
Of all the water processed and pumped out by the water companies, 25% is lost through leaks in the network. Of the remainder, 90% is consumed by business. They are not subject to hosepipe bans and they include farms and smallholdings, but also golf courses and other sporting venues. Businesses such as car washes and cleaning companies using pressure washers are also exempt. So we're left with 7.5% of the water processed which ends up in domestic premises. Of this, only 10% is used by householders wielding hoses to water their gardens and wash their cars. So a hosepipe ban with full compliance saves the massive 0.75% of all the water processed which finishes up at the end of a domestic hose.
It is virtue signalling by companies who want to be seen to be "doing something".
Well what they could do is to start by consulting their colleagues in the gas industry to find out their secret of distributing their product without a quarter of it leaking away. Then they should invest in infrastructure to get water from where there is plenty to where there is a shortage. Only then should they consider rationing their product if that is still necessary.
Yes they are.
Of all the water processed and pumped out by the water companies, 25% is lost through leaks in the network. Of the remainder, 90% is consumed by business. They are not subject to hosepipe bans and they include farms and smallholdings, but also golf courses and other sporting venues. Businesses such as car washes and cleaning companies using pressure washers are also exempt. So we're left with 7.5% of the water processed which ends up in domestic premises. Of this, only 10% is used by householders wielding hoses to water their gardens and wash their cars. So a hosepipe ban with full compliance saves the massive 0.75% of all the water processed which finishes up at the end of a domestic hose.
It is virtue signalling by companies who want to be seen to be "doing something".
Well what they could do is to start by consulting their colleagues in the gas industry to find out their secret of distributing their product without a quarter of it leaking away. Then they should invest in infrastructure to get water from where there is plenty to where there is a shortage. Only then should they consider rationing their product if that is still necessary.
O.G. has a very good point. Over the years and the droughts and the various water-rationings I've been through. (Siphoning water from the shared family bath - yes, I can tick that one.) It was a public utility, so we did band together.
Now I don't feel inclined to - especially as I physically can't carry a full watering can and would end up flat on my back and taking painkillers if I tried to walk back and forth pouring on about 4 litres at a time. OH, at 89 and with a heart condition, cannot be expected to carry lots of water to water the vegetables that we are growing to help us through this inflationary winter.
So - our hosepipe will continue to be used - carefully of course, we never knowingly waste water. My washing-up bowl goes on the garden etc., etc.. Our garden is not huge and watering will be on plants.
This reluctance to play ball is also down to the facts that Water companies now pay dividends and are not publicly owned. At the 'Tell Sid' phase - I refused to buy water shares; I thought it was wrong because water is a necessity.
The other fact is that the Water boards (now companies) have known about leaks for at least 50 years - my first husband was a drainage engineer and we had friends amongst water engineers - and have more or less ignored them. There was a fairly simple stop-gap measure could have been more used to gain time for repairs - but it wasn't done. So I'm not doing my bit either this time.
Now I don't feel inclined to - especially as I physically can't carry a full watering can and would end up flat on my back and taking painkillers if I tried to walk back and forth pouring on about 4 litres at a time. OH, at 89 and with a heart condition, cannot be expected to carry lots of water to water the vegetables that we are growing to help us through this inflationary winter.
So - our hosepipe will continue to be used - carefully of course, we never knowingly waste water. My washing-up bowl goes on the garden etc., etc.. Our garden is not huge and watering will be on plants.
This reluctance to play ball is also down to the facts that Water companies now pay dividends and are not publicly owned. At the 'Tell Sid' phase - I refused to buy water shares; I thought it was wrong because water is a necessity.
The other fact is that the Water boards (now companies) have known about leaks for at least 50 years - my first husband was a drainage engineer and we had friends amongst water engineers - and have more or less ignored them. There was a fairly simple stop-gap measure could have been more used to gain time for repairs - but it wasn't done. So I'm not doing my bit either this time.
// We have never valued water in the UK and that includes the water companies.//
We shouldn't need to "value" it in the UK. Water is the most recyclable of all raw materials. It falls from the sky. Around 42 inches of rain falls across the country on average every year. That's getting on for 300 litres (66 gallons) per person per day.
No, it doesn't all fall in the same place at the same time. That's where the water companies come in. It is their job to collect it, store it, purify it and distribute it to the people who need it, where they need it. These are tasks which they have been found to be incapable of every time there is a spell of dry weather. So they impose a hosepipe ban. This saves 0.75% of all the water distributed (if fully complied with) and is a farce.
If the water falling from the sky is insufficient, the UK is surrounded by the stuff. Nowhere is more than about 70 miles from the sea and most places are considerably closer than that. But the only desalination plant in the country is at Beckton in East London. This was completed ostensibly to ease pressure on London's water supply as the city's population rapidly grows. In fact it was completed in time for the London Olympics and it is likely that it was a vanity project to ensure, as hosts, the UK was not embarrassed during the games if a drought occurred.
https:/
The plant is currently out of service "undergoing maintenance" but is unlikely to be used anyway because of "high energy costs."
https:/
The water supply issue in the UK is a disgrace.
We shouldn't need to "value" it in the UK. Water is the most recyclable of all raw materials. It falls from the sky. Around 42 inches of rain falls across the country on average every year. That's getting on for 300 litres (66 gallons) per person per day.
No, it doesn't all fall in the same place at the same time. That's where the water companies come in. It is their job to collect it, store it, purify it and distribute it to the people who need it, where they need it. These are tasks which they have been found to be incapable of every time there is a spell of dry weather. So they impose a hosepipe ban. This saves 0.75% of all the water distributed (if fully complied with) and is a farce.
If the water falling from the sky is insufficient, the UK is surrounded by the stuff. Nowhere is more than about 70 miles from the sea and most places are considerably closer than that. But the only desalination plant in the country is at Beckton in East London. This was completed ostensibly to ease pressure on London's water supply as the city's population rapidly grows. In fact it was completed in time for the London Olympics and it is likely that it was a vanity project to ensure, as hosts, the UK was not embarrassed during the games if a drought occurred.
https:/
The plant is currently out of service "undergoing maintenance" but is unlikely to be used anyway because of "high energy costs."
https:/
The water supply issue in the UK is a disgrace.
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