Environment Secretary demands MORE hosepipe bans

Environment Secretary demands MORE hosepipe bans: George Eustice urges water firms to fine customers and tells homeowners to put water-saving devices in their toilets

George Eustice said some firms have ‘rightly’ acted, urging others to follow suit
His remarks come as Britain faces the driest period since the summer of 1976
Hosepipe bans are currently in effect across Hampshire and the Isle of Man
South East Water customers across Kent and Sussex face ban from Friday
Households in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire affected later this month

Hosepipes should be banned, the Environment Secretary has urged water companies, as Britain is forecast to bake in temperatures of up to 28C on Sunday amid an unusually dry August.

George Eustice said some firms have already ‘rightly’ taken action to mitigate the effects of the prolonged dry weather, and strongly encouraged others to follow suit ahead of what is set to be another heatwave next week.

His remarks, the first public intervention by ministers, signal possible restrictions on watering gardens, washing cars or filling pools with hosepipes for millions more people across southern England in the coming days.

It comes as forecasters predict the warm weather will continue for most of the UK into next week, when conditions will stay dry and settled with little rain or wind.

Southern Water already imposed a hosepipe ban for customers in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight on Friday, while the measure will follow exactly a week later for South East Water customers in Kent and Sussex with rulebreakers looking at fines of up to £1,000.

Welsh Water has also announced a ban for Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire later this month.

There have already been reports of some households flouting the bans, with disgruntled social media users posting pictures of their neighbours spraying hoses and turning on garden sprinklers.

But these posts were few and far between as many more users dismissed the notion of ‘snitching’ and instead hit out at firms for hypocrisy after an analysis conducted by The Times last month found that England’s nine water companies leak up to 2.4 billion litres per day.

Members of the public walk their dog on dried brown grass during sunny weather in Greenwich Park in South East London. Hosepipe bans are in place in parts of the United Kingdom as reservoirs dry out due to high temperatures and lack of rain

A woman walks through dried brown grass during sunny weather on Blackheath Common

The Burrator Reservoir in Devon is less than half full as a result of the UK’s staggering heatwave

The diminishing water volumes are due the intense British heatwave and there is no rain expected for a few weeks

The first hosepipe ban of the year was implemented on Friday in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The moves to curb water use come after England has seen the driest eight-month period from November 2021 to July since 1976, when much of the country struggled in extreme drought

Mr Eustice wrote in The Sunday Telegraph: ‘In accordance with their drought plans, water companies across the country have rightly taken action to mitigate the effects of this prolonged dry weather using the range of tools available to them.

‘I strongly urge others to do the same’.

His remarks come as Britain faces the driest period since the summer of 1976, with the south of England in particular having already suffered the driest July since records began in 1836.

A Whitehall source said Mr Eustice wanted firms to implement their drought plans and ‘take whatever action necessary’, adding: ‘One key element of that will be the temporary use of hosepipe bans,’ according to The Telegraph.

Thames Water has indicated that it could be the next firm to implement a ban, partly depending on the extent to which households reduce their use of water to avoid shortages.

Mr Eustice also declared people could help to reduce any water wastage by ensuring their plumbing and kitchen appliances are leak-free, installing water-saving devices in toilet cisterns and generally being frugal with the amount of water used.

But he stressed that efforts to save water ‘should never solely be about individual consumer action,’ imploring water companies to step in.

The south of England has experienced the driest July since records began in 1836 with only 5.4mm of rain across the region (people pictured playing golf at Burley Golf Club this week)

Parched grass of Wimbledon Common is pictured as the hot weather and a lack of rainfall continue to grip much of the south of England and the UK

View from the air of the parched fields surrounding the village of Abbotsbury in Dorset where the grass has been scorched by the hot sunshine and lack of rain during the summer drought conditions

Thames Water plant designed to protect people from effects of drought is switched off

A worker at the water plant in Beckton, East London, in 2010

A state-of-the-art water plant designed to protect hundreds of thousands of people from the effects of a drought has been switched off, it has been reported.

The £250million plant in Beckton, East London, will not work until next year at the earliest as Britain’s dry spell continues.

As millions of people in the south of England prepare for a hosepipe ban, Thames Water admitted that the major water desalination plant has been switched off amid concerns over its functionality.

The plant, which was opened by the Duke of Edinburgh in 2010, is the only one in the UK designed to turn salty seawater into fresh water.

‘Our desalination plant is currently out of service due to necessary planned work,’ a spokesman for Thames Water told the newspaper. ‘Our teams are working as fast as possible to get it ready for use early next year, if we were to have another dry winter.’

Meteorologists have urged people to avoid the midday sun and stay in the shade as the arid weather looks set to last another seven to 10 days.

Highs of 27C and 28C are expected to hit parts of south and south-east England on Sunday, with sunny spells forecast throughout the day for most of the country.

The dry conditions look set to clash with hosepipe bans already imposed or due to be announced – with more firms likely to follow suit after the Environment Secretary’s intervention.

Met Office senior meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said: ‘For the next seven to 10 days it looks like it will be dry for much of the country.’

Mr Dewhurst also urged people to follow precautions in the warm weather to avoid becoming overheated, including closing curtains and windows during the day.

‘As the heatwave develops, keep out of the midday sun, try and stay in the shade if you are outside and the best thing to do is close the curtains during the day and then open the curtains and windows at night to let the cooler air in,’ he said.

‘Drink lots of water and make sure to stay hydrated.’

He added: ‘Overall Augusts tend to be a wetter month so it is fairly unusual to have prolonged dry weather over August.

‘England and Wales will be dry with sunny spells (on Sunday).

‘Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland will be cloudier with a risk of some patchy rain largely across the west of Scotland but there will be sunny spells across Northern Ireland.

‘Maximum temperatures tomorrow will be around 27 and possibly 28C which would be across central and southern and southeast England area.

‘It will still be in the sun further north, even to the east of Scotland we might see 23C.’

Britons start snitching on people ignoring restrictions as MORE hosepipe bans could be on the way after one MILLION people told not to use hoses

Neighbours have already started curtain-twitching on each other for flouting the hosepipe ban which came into force on Friday.

One grandmother took a photo of her neighbour watering her flowers in Hampshire on the very first day of the ban and posted the image online.

Southern Water has imposed a hose ban in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, South East Water in Kent and Sussex, and Welsh Water in Pembrokeshire – in all covering around three million people. Rulebreakers could be fined £1,000.

The grandmother captioned the photo with the Twitter hashtag ‘#rulesDontApply’ as she uploaded the image of her neighbour flouting the rules.

Another woman has blasted her own ‘selfish’ neighbour for using his sprinkler to water his own lawn.

She posted a photo online with caption: ‘The reason Mr Next Door still has a green lawn’.

Gardeners are being encouraged to confront or report their neighbours if they spot them repeatedly breaching hosepipe bans with rule-breakers facing fines of up to £1,000 if they are then taken to court.

More hosepipe bans could be on the way thanks to a combination of drought and leaking pipes.

With many rivers already on ‘red alert’ as their levels drop dangerously low, the Environment Agency is understood to be keen for water companies to implement further bans.

A grandmother took a photo of her neighbour watering her flowers in Hampshire on the very first day of the ban and posted the image online

A hosepipe ban affecting one million people across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight came into force at 5pm on Friday – as the Met Office warned of ‘very little meaningful rain’ on the horizon for parched areas of England.

Welsh Water also announced restrictions for 200,000 customers in Pembrokeshire and a small part of Carmarthenshire from August 19 – with the firm blaming the driest conditions since the drought of 1976.

In Southern Water’s guidance for what to do if you spot a neighbour breaking the ban from today, the company advises: ‘If you notice a neighbour, family or friend, in the affected areas, using water for the restricted activities please gently remind them of the restrictions in place and direct them to our website for more information.’

But a Southern Water spokesman added: ‘If you see anyone repeatedly breaching the restrictions, please let us know via our customer service team. A fine of up to £1,000 can be imposed for any breaches. Our approach is one of education rather than enforcement. We would like to thank all our customers for supporting these restrictions.’

Any fine would have to be imposed via the courts. The current restrictions cover using a hosepipe to water a garden, clean a vehicle, or wash windows. They also include filling a paddling pool, domestic pond or ornamental fountain. The ban does not impose restrictions on essential and commercial uses of water, such as commercial window cleaners and car washes, or businesses that need water as part of their operations, such as zoos.

Another woman has blasted her own ‘selfish’ neighbour for using his sprinkler to water his own lawn. She posted a photo online with caption: ‘The reason Mr Next Door still has a green lawn’

Source: Read Full Article