Another Hosepipe Ban in the UK
It seems that more and more often the UK introduces hosepipe bans in various parts of the country to help save water. This year many people have been surprised by the introduction of a hosepipe ban once again as it has seemed like there has been a lot of rain recently. However, after two very dry winters it is the long term water stocks that are running dangerously low and this has led to low river water levels as well as low levels of water in the reservoirs around the country.
As from 5 April 2012 hosepipe bans were introduced by the following water authorities in the UK:
- Thames Water
- South East Water
- Sutton and East Surrey Water Authority
- Southern Water
- Anglian Water
- Veolia Central
- Veolia South East
Fines For Using Hosepipes
Although it seems that it might be difficult to police, there will be fines in place of up to £1,000 for anyone who flouts the hosepipe ban. Some businesses, disabled people and sports fields that are used for national or international events are not included in the ban. This will help the Olympic venues for one thing.
Although it is unlikely that Water Authorities will send round employees to check if anyone is using hosepipes, people are being encouraged to use less water as a moral responsibility. There are plenty of ways to save water including the following:
- Recycling any water that you do use – for example bath water can be used to water the garden
- Taking baths instead of showers
- Not running the tap while brushing your teeth
- Installing water saving devices in the home
Get a Water Butt
If you have a garden that needs a lot of watering, or you are growing your own vegetables then one of the best ways to have the water that you need to use on your garden is to install a water butt. A water butt is a large plastic tank that collects rainwater that is diverted through the guttering system.
Water butts are pretty easy to install and the sooner you get one set up the more water you can accumulate during the rainier Spring months.
Water butts tend to come in two sizes – the smaller ones hold around 100 litres of water and the larger ones around 200 litres. A decent water butt will cost you around £50 and you may also want to have a stand so that you can easily access all of the water down to the bottom of the butt. Most water butts have a tap on that you can open to get the water out but you can also get a water butt pump to make it easier to distribute the water if you have a larger garden. See the water butt on the left and click through on the link to get lots more options on buying water butts.
