Water bosses slammed as hosepipe ban announced
GREATER Manchester is going to be hit by a hosepipe ban – as water firm bosses have been criticised for ‘lining shareholder pockets’ at the expense of fixing leaks.
The summer’s first hosepipe ban is set to begin next month, affecting seven million people across the north west of England. United Utilities said the move comes after what is believed to be the longest heatwave since 1976. The hosepipe ban, known as a Temporary Use Ban, will come into force on Sunday, August 5.
Some have pointed out that United Utilities loses a staggering 439 million litres of water a DAY through leaks.
Critics argue that if the firm had sorted out its leaky pipes, the ban could have been avoided.
The ban will apply to domestic customers who get their water supply from United Utilities, with the exception of customers in Carlisle and the north Eden Valley, where supplies remain at reasonable levels.
The ban restricts the use of hosepipes or sprinklers for watering private gardens and washing private cars but customers will still be able to water their gardens with a watering can and wash their vehicles using a bucket and sponge, the firm said, which uses a fraction of the amount of water a hosepipe or sprinkler uses.
A hosepipe uses 540 litres an hour, as much as a family-of-four would use in one day, while a sprinkler left running overnight uses as much water as a family-of-four would use in one week, according to United Utilities (UU).
A hosepipe ban can reduce water usage by five to 10 per cent, according to research by United Kingdom Water Industry Research, which in the north west would amount to more than 100 million litres per day.
Robert Light, northern chair for the Consumer Council for Water, urged UU to ‘do everything in its power to reduce the amount of water lost through leaking pipes’ adding customers ‘would find it unacceptable for essential water use in the home to be restricted’.
But United Utilities says reducing leaks is a ‘top priority’ and that great strides had been made in recent years.
A spokesman told the Observer: “We have cut leakage by half since the 1990s and are working hard to do even more. For instance, we now use satellites to help detect leaks and we have just recruited a team of sniffer dogs trained to pinpoint leaks in rural areas where the water does not always show on the surface.
“The company takes the issue of losses of water from its distribution network very seriously and every year invests millions of pounds to minimise the amount of water lost. Currently, there are more than 160 full-time inspectors detecting leaks across the region. Since the Beast from the East severe weather event in February and response to the ongoing drought, we have increased both our leakage detection and repair activities by around 50 per cent.
“In addition to traditional detection methods, we are also investing in emerging satellite technology to help spot leaks.”