Fury as water bosses ban hosepipes – after the wettest March in 42 years
FATCAT water bosses sparked fury today by banning hosepipes in the wake of the wettest March for 42 years.
South West Water said it was extending restrictions in Cornwall and Devon to protect its supply for the summer.
And it warned the ban was likely to remain in place until at least December unless there is “drought-breaking rainfall”.
It means residents of 800,000 homes are forbidden from using hosepipes to water gardens and lawns, wash cars, clean their windows or fill paddling pools — or face fines of up to £1,000 for doing so.
Allotments, parks and sports areas will also be hit.
The move came hours after the National Drought Group said it was preparing for the “worst case scenario of another hot, dry spell” this summer.
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But fed-up customers, whose bills rose by an average of seven per cent this year, pointed out that the Met Office declared last month the wettest March in England and Wales since 1981 — and the third wettest on record.
Areas flooded this winter included Dartmoor’s River Teign, Exebridge on the Devon-Somerset border and Godrevy and Roadford Lake in Cornwall.
One customer told bosses online: “Your company is a joke. Perhaps if you invested in fixing the many leaks instead of lining the pockets of shareholders and the CEO, we wouldn’t need a hosepipe ban.”
Another added: “Rather than limiting supply you should increase capacity.”
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Last year the company lost the equivalent of 108 litres of water per property per day while making pre-tax profits of £144million.
It said: “Reservoir levels are recovering from the summer drought, but remain lower than this time last year.”
Cath Jones, of the Consumer Council for Water said: “These restrictions are a sensible step to ensure plenty of water this summer, while leaving enough in the environment to help nature recover too.”
