So after a few months of worry about how we will manage without that lovely new power washer or multifunction trigger hose, we can dust them down and once again unleash our favourite garden toys, standing proud over our domain as we spray our delicate plants with gay abandon and jet wash anything and everything in sight! Hose pipe ban? What hose pipe ban? After all we have had a deluge of rain haven’t we! Buckets of it and those poor campers in Wales will vouch for that! And whilst the rain was obviously welcome for a while, even in the landscape industry we are now praying for dry weather again so we can get on with some meaningful work!
Wet camping!
We have been told by the water companies that the reservoirs are at nearly 75% capacity, the norm for this time of year. So all can be forgotten for now and we can carry on as normal! This is despite the fact that ground water resources that these very companies are so heavily dependent on remain significantly or even severely depleted, putting increasing strain on the UK’s water supply!
Surely the sensible thing would be to actually maintain the ban until we reach 90-100% capacity in reservoirs and ground resources have had more time to recover, that way if the rain does actually stop for long periods again at least we will have better reserves to cope when drought sets in again.
Dry Ground
You may wonder why I take this stance, especially being from a landscape industry that benefits from using hoses. The thing is I do actually believe there should be special dispensation from the water companies for the landscape industry, especially as we contribute so much to the economy and educate whenever we can on sensible water usage, it seems odd to me that car washers are held in higher asteem and given special privileges by the water companies! This aside my main point is that it seems half hearted to to impose a ban on the general public and then lift it so soon following a relatively short spell of rain, albeit one that has seemed constant at times. This simply adds fuel to the fire for those against the ban and weakens its status when imposed again.
Water shortage has and will continue to become a major issue in this country over the coming years and we should all be doing more to prepare, conserve and re-use as much water as possible while we have it. Why not do this when supplies of water are high rather than wait until it is all gone again and panic! See B&W earlier blog https://www.bowleswyer.co.uk/?p=466 when the hose pipe ban was originally announced for helpful tips on how to use water efficiently.
The last drip!
If we prepare in the good times we can benefit in the bad. If we are forced into using more water butts, installing drip irrigation systems, recycling grey water and walking back and forward with a watering can more often then so be it! Like many things in our consumerist society we have taken water supply for granted for a long time and abused it. It is time to buck this trend and the government and water companies should be leading the way in persuading us to change.
Money Talks
An interesting article in the Guardian Newspaper last week stated that The Institution of Civil Engineers is calling on ministers to introduce compulsory water meters with differential pricing. This essentially means some water would be provided cheaply but we would have to pay much more for anything above that amount. We may well bemoan the fact that prices will go up but at the end of the day money talks and will force many of us to take notice and be more prudent with water usage. Whether this would impact the wealthy in the same way as the less affluent remains to be seen but it at least draws a line in the sand ready for other legislation to follow on.
James Smith
June 20, 2012
