Britain to fine people who use hosepipe
July 8th, 2010 - 1:26 pm ICT by IANSLondon, July 8 (IANS) Britons wanting to enjoy a splash of water to get rid of the scorching summer heat better be careful. Anyone seen using a hosepipe during summer will be fined 1,000 pounds.
After weeks of dry weather and only a few short spells of rain, Britons have been warned not to take part in water games or using hosepipes or sprinklers for watering private gardens and washing cars. A company that supplies water to the country’s northwestern region has announced the first “hosepipe ban” of the year.
Millions of households in the north-west will face the ban starting Friday with a maximum fine of 1,000 pounds for those who are caught flouting it, the Daily Mail reported.
The ban comes after the driest start to the year in almost 71 years with water in many reservoirs and lakes plummeting to their lowest levels. And with hot weather predicted to continue in the coming days, it looks as if the ban could be followed by others across the country.
In the past eight weeks, rainfall in the north-west has come down to just 38 percent of the average.
“Despite some recent rainfall in the north of the region, reservoir levels are still significantly lower than we would expect at this time of year and are now at a point where we need to impose some temporary restrictions on our customers,” John Sanders of United Utilities, the water supply company, was quoted as saying.
“It is not a decision we have taken lightly, but a hosepipe can use as much water in an hour as a family of four would use in one day,” he said.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Ofwat, Britain’s water services regulation authority, said: “Climate change and population growth mean that our water supplies are likely to become more stretched. Getting the balance right will be an ongoing battle, requiring long-term solutions.”
Ofwat said by 2014-15, water companies will have saved 281 million litres a day by promoting water efficiency, reducing leakage and through their planned meter installation programmes.
A hosepipe ban was last imposed in Britain in 2006 and lifted at the start of 2007.
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Tags: balance right, britons, climate change, daily mail, dry weather, hot weather, john sanders, long term solutions, northwestern region, ofwat, population growth, private gardens, reservoir levels, united utilities, water companies, water efficiency, water games, water services, water supplies, water supply company