default wrote:
Gill, You've mentioned this hosepipe ban before. After unsuccessfully
trying to come up with a reason for it I must ask. What's the purpose
of the ban? How serious are the consequenses?

We have water restrictions from time to time in the summer months where
we can only water our lawns every third day. I've never heard of a
violation as people are usually conscientious about conservation here
anyway. And we're -encouraged- to wash our cars less, or use a
commercial business because those are more enviro-friendly.

BTW My girlfriend is Scotish so I've previously heard the term
"hosepipe." That one is good, but my favorite is her pronunciation of
controversy. kahn-TROV-ersy.

giggle,

steve


Gill Passman wrote:

An additional stress would be refilling the tank (for me) - hosepipe ban
as of next Monday and I'm not sure how I would cope with filling it back
up again with buckets....

Gill



A hosepipe/sprinkler ban is the first step the water companies make in
conserving water supplies in times of shortage.

Hard to believe, I know, but we have had below average rainfall over the
last two winters and last summer. Although the reservoirs are full the
water tables are getting dangerously low. Couple that with the fact that
the infra-structure is old and breaking down - it has been reported that
one third of all water supplied in my area is lost through damaged pipes.

The first step the water companies take is to ban the use of hosepipes
and sprinklers. They also put out advisories on ways of conserving water
- eg. bath instead of shower, recycle water (eg. use water from the
washing up bowl to flush the toilet - that sort of thing). This is the
earliest I can remember these measures being put in place.

Some areas have now through act of parliament got permission to enforce
water metering on all homes. Now I know that most places have this in
place but in the UK historically we paid for our water by something
called Water Rates. This is a set annual charge based on the value of
your property. Newer build houses/flats have water meters as standard
now but there are those of us who still pay via the old rating system.
Living in a household of 2 adults, 3 children and currently 8 fish
tanks, plus a keen interest in gardening we have opted to keep to the
old system. Of course, charging people for what they actually use is
quite an efficient way of rationing providing those in question can
actually afford the charges.

As the season continues, if we still have below average rainfall further
measures are put in place including the restriction of commercial
companies using water to wash buildings/windows and vehicles. The final
stage is to make people get their water from standpipes in the street -
the last time this happened was in 1976 for a short period of time.

Hope this explains all...

Gill