Are You Ready To Save Water?

Last week saw the announcement from seven water companies across the south and east of England, of their plans to introduce a hosepipe ban affective from the 5th April 2012, in an attempt to try and conserve the limited water sources that are available in the build up to the summer.

Parts of the south and east of England have recently seen the lowest levels of annual rainfall over the past two years, which is leading to growing concerns over the amount of water that will be available to certain regions, particularly if this level of drought continues.

Despite it being one of the earliest times of year for a hosepipe ban to be put into place, it is hoped that by taking action early fewer things will be affected including the growing of crops, after Essex and Suffolk particularly have experienced two of the driest years since records began.

Although the hosepipe ban will not affect commercial activity (as businesses are allowed to proceed as normal), households are being encouraged to be more thrifty with their water supplies and will not be permitted to use up water for unnecessary tasks including washing cars, watering gardens and filling up paddling pools.

It is estimated that the average person uses around 150 litres of water every day but with better management (turning taps off when brushing your teeth, fixing leaks and using old washing-up water to water container plants) it is hoped that this figure should reduce by around 20 litres a day.