does the ban mean we get a grand from the water companies when the pipes burst and are not fixed?

drawing relevant water through a hosepipe from a container and applying it for the purpose;

so that would include feeding a dirtworker from a water butt, or feeding water from a dirtworker.

No it wouldn’t, unless you filled your water butt from the mains supply (after the ban started)

“Relevant water” refers to mains water i.e. supplied by the water undertaker; it does not
include water supplied before the water use restriction was implemented.

pictonroad has nailed it. We can all make this problem go away if we use less water. This is not someone else’s problem, this is your problem and you can do something about it.

Anyone else got any particularly selfish views they want to add?

IHN – Member

Surely it would be better to change the legislation to say that, for safety reasons, you can clean the windows and lights of motor vehicles, with a bucket. But that’s it.

There’s a shortage of (mains) water, and having a shiny car or bike is not a priority. If you want to clean your car or bike from your own stored supply, go for your life.

Your first paragraph was kind of my point – you can use a bucket to clean windows and lights (although I would suggest that number plates should also be allowed, given that it is a legal requirement to ensure they remain legible), you can also quite legally use the same bucket as many times as you like to repeatedly throw water over the car to rinse it, expending far more water than a sensibly controlled hosepipe.

On your second point, keeping things ‘shiny’ is not the only reason for keeping a car clean (although it makes sense to keep an item you’ve spent thousands of pounds on in good condition, but that’s a different debate). Clean cars (and motorbikes etc) are far less likely to corrode and degrade, due a lack of harmful dirt trapping moisture and oxidents against perishable metal surfaces. Someone who regularly gets ‘hands on’ with their car is also far more likely to spot faults such as corrosion, tyre wear etc as they occur, rather than when it results in a breakdown or accident. Conscientious car care results in safer cars on our roads, reducing accidents and pollution and therefore reducing environmental impact.

you could take your bikes here for a clean, lots of freely available, running mains water apparently:

http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/local/topstories/9656366.Leak_gushing_water_during_hosepipe_ban/

“Relevant water” refers to mains water i.e. supplied by the water undertaker; it does not include water supplied before the water use restriction was implemented.

what about recycled washing up water or shower water?

On your second point, keeping things ‘shiny’ is not the only reason for keeping a car clean (although it makes sense to keep an item you’ve spent thousands of pounds on in good condition, but that’s a different debate).

If it bothers you that much, take it to a car wash – the water is recycled. Or use a rainwater butt and do it yourself.

How can the possibly stop and fine you for connecting a pressure washer to a waterbut that is filled by rainwater from your roof? This is what jota180 seems to be suggesting.

On your second point, keeping things ‘shiny’ is not the only reason for keeping a car clean

It is for the vast majority of people.

IHN – Member

It is for the vast majority of people.

That’ll be the same vast majority who would happily ignore a hosepipe ban if they thought they could avoid repercussions then…

I have lots of water I can sell you…

How can the possibly stop and fine you for connecting a pressure washer to a waterbut that is filled by rainwater from your roof? This is what jota180 seems to be suggesting.

They can’t, because it’s not mains water. See Turner Guy’s post.

There is possibly an issue with re-using bath water for garden watering, but I can’t believe any water company would be bothered about you using it – it’s a very sensible thing to do after all.

This is what my street would look like if there was a ban here.

There’s raising awareness and then there’s being a nesbit.

Anyone else got any particularly selfish views they want to add?

yeah, fat people who want a seat on a train or plane should have to pay more than the normal fare as their bulk spills over onto the neighbouring seat.

people who have to sit next to fat people get to pay less as they are not getting a whole seat.

TurnerGuy – Member

yeah, fat people who want a seat on a train or plane should have to pay more than the normal fare as their bulk spills over onto the neighbouring seat.

people who have to sit next to fat people get to pay less as they are not getting a whole seat.

😆

How to connect pressure washer to water butt – can’t make the current connection fit – what are you using?

I cut a short section of hose, put the one way hose connector on the end if it and pushed the free end over the tap on the water butt (tap at the bottom obviously). Should have used a longer bit of hose as I can’t quite reach the whole garden.

Loads of riders here drive to their riding route. It makes perfect sense now because of the droughts to find a good value pressure sprayer (the manual type, with a pump on the top) to take in the boot of your car and wash the crud off before sticking your bike in the car (or even on a rack the back, unless the whole idea was posing driving home with a dirty bike staring at people!)

My workplace went on a water meter, with promises of cheaper water. After our first bill, we were asked politely to maintain a vegetable garden for a charity group at the side of the building. Our next water bill just came in and it’s double what the previous one was. Sucks really. Although if you think water is expensive here, a mate in Saudi is saying that over there petrol costs less than water [irony]

That’ll be the same vast majority who would happily ignore a hosepipe ban if they thought they could avoid repercussions then…

Like I said already, have there ACTUALLY been any repercussions? Ever?

Good to see that the legislation isn’t open to interpretation.

water companies admitted they were not employing any inspectors to “snoop” and do not expect to fine people

= Empty threat.

I haven’t read all the posts.

Wessex Water sell customers hand-pumped pressure washers/sprayers cheap cus they use less than a hoze. We don’t yet have a ban btw.

I’ve got a couple of water butts that I’ll be using for cleaning duties but sadly I am aware that the moment my Hosepipe comes out to use them my neighbour will be on the phone (we don’t get on) and I’ll have to do some explaining to some official types.

I could do without that hassle.

= Empty threat.

It depends, doesn’t it? It would seem that in the past, most people were public-spirited enough to avoid the need for prosecutions. On the other hand, if more people go a bit Poddy, and the necessary savings aren’t made, they’ll need to take a tougher line.

I’ve got a couple of water butts that I’ll be using for cleaning duties but sadly I am aware that the moment my Hosepipe comes out to use them my neighbour will be on the phone (we don’t get on) and I’ll have to do some explaining to some official types.

I could do without that hassle.

Remove all fittings from tap, permanently attach hoses to the water butts. Turn tap off. Visit next door with bombers.

On the other hand, if more people go a bit Poddy, and the necessary savings aren’t made, they’ll need to take a tougher line.

Oh eff of you self righeous twunt.

FYI, we recycle rainwater for the garden, fitted our own loft insulation, replaced just about every bulb in the house with energy saving or LED, turn off stuff when not in use, I’ve lagged pipes, trimmed the boiler times and temperatures right down to minimum, we grow our own food, cycle to the shops, I’ve even got the bog cistern filling up to the minimum amount, and we don’t have a dishwasher or dryer.
We’ve basically trimmed down the usage of all our resources to the bare minimum, and if I think I’ll use less water off a hosepipe than in a bucket, then you can just poke it sunshine.
I’ve pointed out the “blinkered attitude of this ban”, and proved myself right, and you can’t see past that. Bloody pillock. Read that article. It goes on about the spirit of the ban, and making people aware to save water by having the publicity rather than fining them. Jeeeeezus H Christ.

Oh eff of you self righeous twunt.

You’re an angry little fellow, aren’t you? Try breathing.

If were as eco as you claim, you’d have no problem with using rainwater for washing your car or bike. But instead, you thought you’d have a good whinge on here. Typical little englander.

No dishwasher or dryer? I haven’t owned a washing machine in a decade 🙂 I hand wash virtually all my clothing after an international student in my uni from the poor suburbs of Paris showed me how.

But seriously, I see a growing trend in growing food at home, and the water necessary will be sourced from water butts, hopefully without making the back of your home look like a scrap yard. Whilst using a sprinkler system for hours of the day on a posh lawn is at one end of the scale, the public may have to accept that water from the mains is a necessity for future crop production.

If you don’t learn to grow food now, apparently in 15-20 years (well, I personally think 8-12) you’re shafted because we’re going to hit a wall where fuel, gas and food are concerned and the face of society is going to look a lot different, particularly if we start scrapping with our allies in 3rd countries for resources.

Won’t the lack of fuel/oil just promote local green grocers/butchers/ etc again, rather than doom everyone who isn’t completely self sufficient. Your vision for 10 years from now sounds a little post apoloclyptic.

Do wonder where it’ll go when fuel ramps up, this country is so set in it’s way with cars being the only way to get around. Should be interesting.

We have a posh school in the neighbouring village. Whenever I drive/cycle past they have all the sprinklers going on sports pitches, cricket grounds, boarding house gardens and on the golf course. This happened during the last hosepipe ban and is also happening now. Does make me wonder how it all works. They get lovely lushes fields (acres and acres) whilst all the local gardens and community pitches turn into dust bowls. We’re not on a meter so I continue paying extortionate prices (that are rising) for using next to nothing.

ska-49 – Member

We have a posh school in the neighbouring village. Whenever I drive/cycle past they have all the sprinklers going on sports pitches, cricket grounds, boarding house gardens and on the golf course. This happened during the last hosepipe ban and is also happening now. Does make me wonder how it all works. They get lovely lushes fields (acres and acres) whilst all the local gardens and community pitches turn into dust bowls. We’re not on a meter so I continue paying extortionate prices (that are rising) for using next to nothing.

Shop ’em! If nothing else, it would provide a useful insight into what response

a) Mr & Mrs Local Curtain Twitcher will get if/when they outragedly report you for using a hosepipe.

b) The water authority will employ against a reported offender.

I think I can guess the answers to a) and b) but it’d be interesting to find out.

The big issue is that this is a very blunt tool and one with dubious potential for ever being used. Me and neighbour have very different water usage patterns – mine might involve a hose and his does not but he uses something daft like 8 times as much as I do according to our meters. I wash a car every now and again and blast the bikes weekly. He insists that no english gentleman’s family should shower (he’s odd!)and they have baths twice a day. He also does not wear a pair of trousers more than once before washing them so his machine is constantly on the go. He has also chosen to have 4 kids which generate loads of water need too. There is plenty in his routine that could be trimmed so not sure why my guilty pleasure (a bit of hose action) is any more “excessive” than his.

The only sensible and fair way to reduce consumer water use would be to have smart meters in all homes and in times of drought either reduce supply (a bit harsh maybe) or ramp up the cost massivly once you exceed a certain amount per day/week/month.

And on a bigger picture – probably time we invested big time in more water storage/national grid/reduced leaks as this is only going to get worse. Will hurt us in the pocket but its our own fault.

++ on what Pictonroad said.

Dead easy to wash a bike with a buck and sponge etc. Given that so much rainwater has been collected for the garden then run some of it off into a bucket and wash the bike etc. If you are bithcing and moaning now about not having water out of a hose pipe then what will happen when you have to get it from a bowser at the end of the road, if it ever gets that bad.

It is a preventative measure designed to help ensure that they can keep the water flowing for all. Work with them and not against them.

Yeah I know I am not affected by it now but have been in the same situation previously. Deal with it and work with what you have got. Sods law that as soon as the ban came into place it rained. It did that before as well and will do again I am sure.

@Toasty – the stuff I’m hearing from sources that are “gaming” probabilities sounds very authoritative. Major changes are needed before we hit the wall. But it’s not next week/month/year so the general public doesn’t have to worry about it for now, does it?

Smart water meters won’t work. Families will just be crippled by the costs when they run over. Education is the key. Of course, for those that still won’t play nice there is an option to supply them with x litres of water per person plus any registered special applications they may have and stop pumping them water after that.

Cost effective wise, we can’t replace all the mains pipes that are leaking. Be interesting if someone comes up with some addictive that could be put in that would fix them, like Radweld.

Smart water meters won’t work. Families will just be crippled by the costs when they run over. Education is the key.

If “educated” why would they ever run over accidentally? You are in drought measures, you act like you are in drought measures by limiting use and checking the meter (or remote readout in the kitchen) and check you are ok to put the washing machine on the nth time that day etc. A supply that turned itself off to a trickle (say 5mins to fill a kettle kind of trickle) after you go past the limit would be best though.

The fact is, there are ‘uneducatable’ people in this country, for whatever reasons. Here ‘education’ is meant to mean social of course. And if you supply free running water at certain times of the day people will attempt to run it off and store it. If used for consumption by humans and not boiled right, the bacteria will start killing people.

I remember reading a scifi short decades ago about the power sources on Earth going silent one day. Come night, the people got scared and started burning everything they had that was flammable to keep the darkness away; furniture, doors, etc. ‘Society’ is an artificial apparatus placed upon us humans as we are only one step away from an anarchic madness.

Why would you “supply free running water at certain times of the day” with a smart meter? That’s not how they would work.

The point is that the sort of drought measures we are talking about now are not extreem (yet)- its merely about kerbing excess (like my neighbour). IIRC the figure is 1% of domestic water is consumed via a hosepipe so the current measures are not massive. Most families could quite happily live perfectly normal lives on a limited supply without even knowing there was a limit.

mrdestructo – Member

‘Society’ is an artificial apparatus placed upon us humans as we are only one step away from an anarchic madness

Wow. If ever there were an appropriate use of ‘deep’ as an adjective, this post it it!