Hosepipe bans should have been introduced sooner, an MP has said, as there are claims the UK could officially declare a drought this week.Sir Robert Goodwill, the Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee, told the BBC water companies may have held off on bringing in hosepipe bans as they cost the firms money.
“I think hosepipe bans make a lot of sense,” he told the BBC’s Today programme.
“I think the water companies may have been holding off and maybe should’ve done this sooner. 20 years ago when we had hosepipe bans before, a lot of people were actually unmetered, they just paid their water rate.”
“Now the situation is it actually costs water companies to impose a hosepipe ban and therefore I suspect they would have held off longer than they would have done 25 years ago.”
His comments come as the UK is preparing to declare a drought this week, according to reports in the i newspaper.
How about water companies do more to fix there leaks sooner wouldn’t that be a better idea than making people who pay the water bill suffer and the companies generate more profits!
I’m sure Mr Goodwill, as a conservative believed that the free market would act swiftly to balance this out and not put profit before infrastructure at all. :/
I’m glad he has a two month ahead weather forecast that no one else has.
However I agree with a lot that he says, even if there is a bit of hindsight there.
in 1976 water was a service, not a profit making exercise. They probably didn’t have a meeting of finance people in 1976 to work out how to get extra water rates out of it all, but in 2022 they probably did have some stupid meeting that benefits only shareholders and execs.
[deleted]
Hosepipe ban it’s rained everyday for the last two weeks
3 to 5% of water use is in the home
5% is industrial
The remainder is all agricultural and related to food production and processing.
3.17billion litres a day is lost due to leaky pipes
Here where I am in the Anglian water region, we have not had any real significant rain for two months. No restrictions so far.
Affinity Water has been sending emails lately asking for us to conserve water, but they see no specific need to introduce a hosepipe ban this year.
It’s the driest I’ve ever seen around here, so I think this MP is right. The water company knows we are metered around here and they would lose money if they officially restricted usage.
As soon as he’s refilled his swimming pools.
I’m all for a hosepipe ban, if we get a reduction in the absolutely extortionate rates we pay, to match it – and if Nestlé, big business et al get restricted FIRST.
it sure is nice to be northern
‘Something should’ve been done about water companies sooner’ says no MP.
‘Something should be done about these heatwaves’ says no MP.
‘Something should be done about a looming existential crisis to the planet’ says no MP.
Sure, however water companies should have been brought into line sooner. Hosepipe bans also mean very little unless people change their lifestyles throughout the year to begin with, including changing their attitude towards keeping a ‘perfect’ garden and lawn. Hosepipe bans are a short term solution for a long term problem, we will just see the same problems over the next few years until we address the elephants in the room.
Privatised water companies have given out over 57bn in dividends since 1991, yet still 3 billion litres of water is lost through leaks. Yet the public must pay for it with higher rates and hosepipe bans. Fuck off.
But if folk are on water meters rather than a fixed tarrif then the water compaines will loose money. We can’t have that now can we!!
Sounds like the water companies problem.
hosepipe ban but brighton football club and all the others are all ok to spray the pitches with gallons and gallons before a game
We are surrounded by water, we should be building water desalination plants all around our coast whatever the cost.
How about the water companies fix their leaking pipe and investing in infrastructure, instead of giving away £100’s milions to shareholders.
People can can carry water differently if they can’t use a hosepipe. It is not like banning them wouldn’t mean people won’t use alternatives.
We get more rain per square metre than pretty much anywhere else in Europe. We have built practically no new water storage capacity since privatisation in 1991. 20% of our water is wasted due to leakage. Raw sewag is pumped into our rivers for around 3m hours per year. The water companies have extracted £57Bn in profits since that time.
But the answer is to restrict water usage?
They do nothing. My neighbours are still watering their gardens with hoses. I don’t blame them, really.
Thames Water are currently running an advert patting themselves on the back for fixing leaks, despite it being part of their remit as a water utilities company AND the fact they have been fined for their poor handling of leaks previously.
Who actually uses a hose that often?
It’s all down to the money again. The more you use, the more you pay.
We need to start fining companies a percentage of their net turnover. They have zero incentive to fix environmental disasters like the amount of water they allow to leak out of their poor infrastructure.
I said months ago (pre-summer) that if they brought in hosepipe bans I would not consider them valid, and here’s my rationale.
Water companies across the country have been fined for dumping raw sewage into water courses. My water company, Northumbrian water, were fined in October 2021 and January 2022 for separate incidents of this. The hypocrisy of them telling me I need to save water is laughable.
As for the fines, fines that are being held up by the current sitting government is also laughably hypocritical. The current sitting government have proved multiple times over recent years that the rules do not apply to them. They have repeatedly lied to the country, broken rules, engaged in highly questionable behaviour and then tried to cover it up.
Why I should listen to either party is beyond me. I fully understand that it is for the greater good, but I have become completely apathetic to the concept of set rules and fines for breaking them.
Those that own the corporations have been draining water and want the levels as low as possible. They want reason to hike the prices and to ration water for as long as possible.
Are you allowed to use the hosepipe if your garden is on fire 🔥
29 comments
***From our reporter Marcus Parekh:***
Hosepipe bans should have been introduced sooner, an MP has said, as there are claims the UK could officially declare a drought this week.Sir Robert Goodwill, the Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee, told the BBC water companies may have held off on bringing in hosepipe bans as they cost the firms money.
“I think hosepipe bans make a lot of sense,” he told the BBC’s Today programme.
“I think the water companies may have been holding off and maybe should’ve done this sooner. 20 years ago when we had hosepipe bans before, a lot of people were actually unmetered, they just paid their water rate.”
“Now the situation is it actually costs water companies to impose a hosepipe ban and therefore I suspect they would have held off longer than they would have done 25 years ago.”
His comments come as the UK is preparing to declare a drought this week, according to reports in the i newspaper.
**Read more for free:** [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/08/08/hosepipe-bans-should-have-brought-sooner-says-mp/](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/08/08/hosepipe-bans-should-have-brought-sooner-says-mp/)
How about water companies do more to fix there leaks sooner wouldn’t that be a better idea than making people who pay the water bill suffer and the companies generate more profits!
I’m sure Mr Goodwill, as a conservative believed that the free market would act swiftly to balance this out and not put profit before infrastructure at all. :/
I’m glad he has a two month ahead weather forecast that no one else has.
However I agree with a lot that he says, even if there is a bit of hindsight there.
in 1976 water was a service, not a profit making exercise. They probably didn’t have a meeting of finance people in 1976 to work out how to get extra water rates out of it all, but in 2022 they probably did have some stupid meeting that benefits only shareholders and execs.
[deleted]
Hosepipe ban it’s rained everyday for the last two weeks
3 to 5% of water use is in the home
5% is industrial
The remainder is all agricultural and related to food production and processing.
3.17billion litres a day is lost due to leaky pipes
Source: https://grantham.sheffield.ac.uk/how-much-water-does-the-uk-use/
Here where I am in the Anglian water region, we have not had any real significant rain for two months. No restrictions so far.
Affinity Water has been sending emails lately asking for us to conserve water, but they see no specific need to introduce a hosepipe ban this year.
It’s the driest I’ve ever seen around here, so I think this MP is right. The water company knows we are metered around here and they would lose money if they officially restricted usage.
As soon as he’s refilled his swimming pools.
I’m all for a hosepipe ban, if we get a reduction in the absolutely extortionate rates we pay, to match it – and if Nestlé, big business et al get restricted FIRST.
it sure is nice to be northern
‘Something should’ve been done about water companies sooner’ says no MP.
‘Something should be done about these heatwaves’ says no MP.
‘Something should be done about a looming existential crisis to the planet’ says no MP.
Sure, however water companies should have been brought into line sooner. Hosepipe bans also mean very little unless people change their lifestyles throughout the year to begin with, including changing their attitude towards keeping a ‘perfect’ garden and lawn. Hosepipe bans are a short term solution for a long term problem, we will just see the same problems over the next few years until we address the elephants in the room.
Privatised water companies have given out over 57bn in dividends since 1991, yet still 3 billion litres of water is lost through leaks. Yet the public must pay for it with higher rates and hosepipe bans. Fuck off.
But if folk are on water meters rather than a fixed tarrif then the water compaines will loose money. We can’t have that now can we!!
Sounds like the water companies problem.
hosepipe ban but brighton football club and all the others are all ok to spray the pitches with gallons and gallons before a game
We are surrounded by water, we should be building water desalination plants all around our coast whatever the cost.
How about the water companies fix their leaking pipe and investing in infrastructure, instead of giving away £100’s milions to shareholders.
People can can carry water differently if they can’t use a hosepipe. It is not like banning them wouldn’t mean people won’t use alternatives.
We get more rain per square metre than pretty much anywhere else in Europe. We have built practically no new water storage capacity since privatisation in 1991. 20% of our water is wasted due to leakage. Raw sewag is pumped into our rivers for around 3m hours per year. The water companies have extracted £57Bn in profits since that time.
But the answer is to restrict water usage?
They do nothing. My neighbours are still watering their gardens with hoses. I don’t blame them, really.
Thames Water are currently running an advert patting themselves on the back for fixing leaks, despite it being part of their remit as a water utilities company AND the fact they have been fined for their poor handling of leaks previously.
Who actually uses a hose that often?
It’s all down to the money again. The more you use, the more you pay.
We need to start fining companies a percentage of their net turnover. They have zero incentive to fix environmental disasters like the amount of water they allow to leak out of their poor infrastructure.
I said months ago (pre-summer) that if they brought in hosepipe bans I would not consider them valid, and here’s my rationale.
Water companies across the country have been fined for dumping raw sewage into water courses. My water company, Northumbrian water, were fined in October 2021 and January 2022 for separate incidents of this. The hypocrisy of them telling me I need to save water is laughable.
As for the fines, fines that are being held up by the current sitting government is also laughably hypocritical. The current sitting government have proved multiple times over recent years that the rules do not apply to them. They have repeatedly lied to the country, broken rules, engaged in highly questionable behaviour and then tried to cover it up.
Why I should listen to either party is beyond me. I fully understand that it is for the greater good, but I have become completely apathetic to the concept of set rules and fines for breaking them.
Those that own the corporations have been draining water and want the levels as low as possible. They want reason to hike the prices and to ration water for as long as possible.
Are you allowed to use the hosepipe if your garden is on fire 🔥