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Hosepipe bans 'could have been avoided'

03/04/2006

Hosepipe bans introduced in the south-east of England today are unnecessary and represent an easy option for water companies to avoid necessary improvements in efficiency, a new study suggests.

Two water firms - Thames Water and Three Valleys - introduced hosepipe and sprinkler bans today, claiming that two years of below-average rainfall in southern England had left them with no choice but to preserve scarce supplies.

However, according to the GMB union, the problem is not a lack of rainfall, rather a lack of adequate infrastructure to ensure that the rain which does fall is collected and delivered efficiently by water companies.

The research found that just 1.33 per cent of the total amount of rainfall is delivered to homes and businesses in the UK.

Gary Smith, GMB national officer for the water industry, said that while consumers should be encouraged to conserve water supplies, suppliers were failing to keep their side of the bargain.

"Educating customers in the sensible uses of water, hosepipe bans, and installing water meters - as advocated by the private water companies - is dealing with the symptoms of the problem of water shortage rather than the root causes," Mr Smith said.

"Not enough rainwater is collected and used. The rainwater is there. Even in the areas with least rainfall per person we are still using less then ten per cent of it."

He added that a major overhaul of industry infrastructure was needed in order to ensure that measures such as hosepipe bans are not introduced in the future.

"We need new reservoirs, particularly in the south of England. We need to change building regulations to ensure that rainwater falling onto houses is used for gardening and non-domestic uses. Water fittings in properties need to be appropriate to the areas where people live."

The UK's largest water firm Thames Water has insisted it had no alternative but to introduce a hosepipe ban in response to the "severity of the drought" facing the south-east, with chief executive Jeremy Pelczer pointing out that 15 of the last 16 months have seen below-average rainfall in the region.

Nevertheless today's criticism by the GMB is likely to increase pressure on water suppliers already under fire over the amount of water lost to leakages.

The water regulator Ofwat estimates that water firms lose 3.6 billion litres of water a day as a result of leaks.

Water bills are due to rise by 5.5 per cent on average this year, pushing costs up to a 17-year high.

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