Hosepipe Ban
The Consumer Council for Water North West is calling on the Government to make sure that money arising from a £8.5 million fine on United Utilities’ shareholders is used to help the company’s poorest customers. Ofwat today ordered water and sewerage supplier, United Utilities, to pay the fine for breaches of regulations relating to trading arrangements with associate companies.
OK, so not especially linked to the hosepipe ban, but we thought our readers might be interested to try the new C02 calculator unveiled by the government today. We’ve been trying it ourselves and although we’re not 100% sure about its accuracy, it does give a good idea about your family’s “Carbon Footprint”.
Thames Water will reveal that it has met leakage targets set by water regulator Ofwat for the first time since 2000 when it reports results later this month. The water company is set to declare that it leaked 780 million litres per day in the last financial year, considerably below the target set by Ofwat of 810 million litres per day.
Following a very warm and dry April the downpours of May have been welcomed for keeping up levels of stored water. Experts are therefore predicting that 2007 will be completely hosepipe ban free. Great news.
“Hottest April since records began.”
The UK’s current water policy framework is not robust enough, Environment Minister Ian Pearson said today as he launched a debate on a revised National Water Strategy. Speaking to an industry audience at an IPPR seminar on the link between climate change and water, Mr Pearson called for preconceptions and policies to change to meet the increasing challenges posed by changing climate, housing patterns and lifestyles.
Water companies in southern and eastern England should go ahead with metering programmes to tackle pressure on water resources – but not without tackling affordability problems for low income consumers, warned the consumer watchdog today. The Consumer Council for Water has said consistently that compulsory metering cannot go ahead without support for people on low incomes.
Environment Minister Lord Rooker cheered up the House of Lords yesterday when he informed the Noble Lords that the winter had produced “the right kind of rain”, adding that “it filled the aquifers and the reservoirs”. It was he said the wettest winter on record since 1914 and stated “As a result, most reservoir and groundwater levels are normal for the time of year. Consequently, the outlook for water supply is much improved on recent years.”
The Environment Agency, water companies and various organisations all say that we shouldn’t see any water restrictions in 2007. Their language on this topic varies – “There’s a very small chance”, “…extremely unlikely”, “…risk of widespread water supply restrictions this summer is low” – seems to be the order of the day. Of course, no organisation will categorically state there won’t be a ban, but they seem pretty confident. Or do they?
Thames Water’s PR machine has been working overtime again trying to encourage their customers to continue saving water. Their website has published details of how to have a “water-wise Easter” (how many marketing people did it take to dream that one up?). They also state that a hosepipe ban this year should be “extemely unlikely”.
One year on from the imposition of hosepipe bans across most of south east England, the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) has welcomed Government reforms to update the 62-year-old legislation on hosepipe bans. The clearer rules have met consumer demand for better information, one of the findings of new qualitative research by CCWater showing what consumers think and feel about using water – and restrictions on it during dry spells.
Defra and the Government have today announced proposals for modernising the hosepipe ban, to update the 62 year old legislation surrounding it. These are just proposals – not law yet – and will now be open to consultation before going through Parliament. Modernisation of hosepipe ban rules was something we were crying out for over the last year on this website. Here’s the full press release from the government:
B&Q, one of the country’s leading DIY retailers has reported that sales of water butts have more than tripled compared with this time last year. Ironically we see this at a time when all hosepipe and sprinkelr bans have been lifted and the country endures above average rainfall. But it seems people are keen not to get caught out if we have another warm summer.
Mid Kent Water has become the final water company to lift its hosepipe ban following months of above average rainfall and a rise in the region’s underground water levels. The underground aquifers are said to be crucial to Mid Kent Water as they get almost 90% of their water from them.
Last year Thames Water managed to dodge a fine from Ofwat by being forced to spend an extra £150m on fixing leaks. It seems the company is doing well to meet the levels of leak fixing imposed by the water industry regulator.
In an obvious attempt to improve public relations, Thames have started a Regular leakage report section on their website which will be updated over time.