First hosepipe bans take effect

This Is Money13 April 2012

MORE than 100,000 households will wake up to the first hosepipe ban for nine years today following one of the driest winters on record.

The use of hoses and sprinklers in private gardens and to wash the car will be banned in a large part of West Sussex as water companies struggle to meet demand. Other water companies could follow suit to conserve low water stocks.

Weather records support the need for a ban. Rainfall across the country between November and May was the fourth lowest since 1914 according to the Met Office, with suppliers fearing the prospect of a hot summer could lead to widespread shortages in densely populated areas.Sutton and East Surrey Water has already introduced restrictions on garden sprinklers and unattended hosepipe use, and other companies are also considering measures.

Paula Jackman, spokeswoman for Southern Water, which has introduced today's ban, said the Weir Wood reservoir at East Grinstead was the main source of water for 68,000 homes. The ban, she said, would cover 110,000 homes to preserve supplies for the entire region. It is the company's first since 1996.

'The last six or seven months have all been below average. Even though it's rained recently that has only really helped to suppress demand by stopping people going out in the gardens. The bans will last for the foreseeable future.

'It sounds like the old joke about the wrong sort of snow, but it's only during the winter and autumn that the ground is wet enough to replenish reservoirs. We do not have a water crisis yet which is why we are taking these measures,' she said.

Ms Jackman said the public normally responded well to hosepipe bans. Ofwat, the regulator for the water and sewerage industry in England and Wales, backed the ban, saying it showed 'prudent planning' by water companies.

A spokesman said: 'Our price limits have enabled water companies to invest £2.3bn over the next five years to make sure supplies are met. Water restrictions may be necessary given that this is the second driest winter in the last 50 years. There has been very little replenishment to the underground water supplies on which water companies in the south rely. It is prudent planning to preserve their supplies.'

A spokesman for WaterVoice, the consumer body for water customers, said the need for a hosepipe ban highlighted future concerns over the Government's plans to build thousands of new homes in the South East.

Spokesman Andrew Marsh said: 'It is alarming in terms of the Government's plans to construct new homes in the South East. Any problems now are only going to get worse.'

Mr Marsh said Southern Water had a good track record on preventing water leakage from its reservoirs. 'We are supportive of what they are doing,' he added.

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