Should we stop watering our gardens in this dry weather?

SURELY the way to force the water authorities to ensure we do not run out of water is for the regulator Ofwat to ensure no bonuses are paid to staff until leaks are down to European standards. And dividends to shareholders should be restricted to no more than 25 per cent of the amount invested in reducing leaks.

F. G. SKETCH, Grove, Oxon. WHY does the head of Ofwat pick on gardeners when only a small proportion of water supplied to households is used for drinking and cooking food? Surely it’s not necessary to use drinking-quality water for showering, clothes washing and flushing toilets? The water companies should concentrate on fixing leaks and setting up a national grid for water instead of persecuting gardeners.

JANET DAVIES, Farnham, Surrey.

RE-USE bathwater and collect rainwater? I never take a

bath, and as it hasn’t rained for weeks, am I supposed to just let my garden die?

DAVID PITT, Boxley, Kent. WHENEVER there are more than ten days of continuous sunshine in the UK, there are calls for a hosepipe ban to preserve water. Why doesn’t the Government offer grants for people to install their own well with an electric pump to pipe up water for use on the garden? In south-west Spain, four months without a drop of rain is not uncommon, but there has never been a water shortage and there is lush greenery and colourful plants, shrubs and trees everywhere.

ANN BROOK, Cadiz, Spain.

ONCE again, a few weeks of summer and water companies and environmental pundits tell us all to cut back on our water usage. Then over the winter, we are awash with water and homes and business are ruined by floods — the wrong kind of rain, I suppose.

LEONARD GANT, Loughborough, Leics. SAVING water is simple: just put a plug in it! Re-use bathwater for three days, just top up with hot water, then use it to water the garden. In days gone by, all the family shared the same bathwater once a week — bad luck if you were last in! Name supplied, Ramsgate, Kent.