Hosepipe Ban
Pete
reaction was not to worry - we have a 5,000 gallon water tank filled with
rainwater which we hadn't used because the pump system wasn't working. My
other half now says he can get the pump working so we can use this water via
our hosepipes.
However, I have got a vague memory of people not being allowed to use
hosepipes even if they are not connected to the mains water.
Is my memory correct or am I having a senior moment?!!!
Jeanne
shazzbat
"Pete" <peter....@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
news:3tSdnezweYyiCqnR...@bt.com...
Your memory is correct. People were threatened with legal action for using
their hospipes to water their gardens with rainwater from tanks etc. Note
the term "threatened". I doubt whether they would actually prosecute if you
called their bluff. Frankly I doubt if they could legally stop you moving
your water with your hosepipe.
X-posted to UK.legal, I'm sure they'd like to join in.
Steve
JMS
There was an item on the news tonight saying that the last time UU
(was NWW) introduced the ban 17 years ago no-one was prosecuted.
I think it would be of interest how much water is wasted from leaks
per day - and how much water is used in garden hose-pipes each day.
I reported a water leak a couple of months ago and it was left
*gushing* for ten hours before anyone even came to look at it. It
was obviously not urgent as they left the remedial work until the next
day.
Mike P
news:2po9365vpdk887foq...@4ax.com...
Used to get hosepipe bans regularly when I lived in Greece. You'd find
people washing their cars round the back of their houses in the middle of
the night with their hose...
--
Mike P
Mentalguy2k8
"Mike P" <pri...@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:i12ti7$1b3$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
I like it.... a variation on my technique, which is to fill/top up my
210-litre water butt with the hose when no-one's looking.
harry
wrote:
> "Pete" <peter.jea...@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
Rainwater is yours until it crosses your boundary when it becomes the
property of the local water company. A stream that crosses your
boundary is not yours, you can't take the water /obstruct the stream
without a licence.If you have a well/borehole you need a licence for
that too.
Years ago in the heady days of privatisation of the water companies,
they tried to lay claim to rainwater too. Someone in Norfolk
appparently successfully sued them because their water came through
his roof without permission and damaged his house. They forgot about
the rainwater business after that.
I have an underground tank & catch water off my driveway.
pete
systems that householders are increasingly installing to do the watering
for them.
Charlie Pridham
companies like to talk about "bans" they are often just restrictions with
all sort of exceptions allowed so its always worth looking at the small
print as the last one down here banned the watering of gardens with a
hose but allowed the filling of a watering can with a hose, it doesn't
take a rocket scientist to connect a can to the end of a hose!
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea
harry
> On Wed, 7 Jul 2010 23:02:36 +0100, Mike P wrote:
> >news:2po9365vpdk887foq...@4ax.com...
> >> On Wed, 7 Jul 2010 20:33:45 +0100, "shazzbat"
>
> >>>"Pete" <peter.jea...@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
>
> - Show quoted text -
It definately will!
Pam Moore
I heard an item on the radio about hoepipe bans generally, and what
you CAN do in spite of a ban. I can't remember them all, but you CAN
wash the dog or cat,, and even fill up a swimming pool, plus a few
other ridiculous things.
Pam in Bristol
Mike Ross
wrote:
<snip>
>I like it.... a variation on my technique, which is to fill/top up my
>210-litre water butt with the hose when no-one's looking.
Why do it when no-one's looking? Just run a bloody copper pipe to the thing so
you can fill it any time.
Mike
--
http://www.corestore.org
'As I walk along these shores
I am the history within'
nm...@cam.ac.uk
Pam Moore <nospam...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
>I heard an item on the radio about hoepipe bans generally, and what
>you CAN do in spite of a ban. I can't remember them all, but you CAN
>wash the dog or cat,, and even fill up a swimming pool, plus a few
>other ridiculous things.
Fence the lawn, put some cats on it and chase them round and round
with a hosepipe :-)
Regards,
Nick Maclaren.
Cynic
>It'll be interesting to see if this ban extends to include irrigation
>systems that householders are increasingly installing to do the watering
>for them.
I cannot see how it could be detected that an underground water system
was being used, so a ban would be unenforceable. I also don't know
whay such systems are not more prevalent. It is cheap and easy to
bury a few perforated pipes under lawns and vegetable/flower beds. A
few moisture detectors and electric water valves then make the process
of watering your garden completely automatic.
--
Cynic
S
In the dry southwest of the United States there is a complicated
system of water rights, you may not have the right to the rainwater
that falls on your property.
kay
'Pam Moore[_2_ Wrote:
> ;893471']snipped, sorry
You may be *allowed* to wash the cat, but being *able* to wash the cat
is a different matter entirely!
--
kay
Stan The Man
I would be interested to trace that. Do you happen to recall which
station, programme, time and date?
Stan The Man
Hosepipes per se have never been banned although some water companies
like to give that impression. The law is quite specific and there are
only two hosepipe uses which can be banned - applying mains-drawn water
to a private garden or car. Any other use, eg cleaning patios, drowning
cats, filling swimming pools etc cannot (yet) be prohibited. Nor can
connecting a hosepipe to a water butt.
I found a very explicit summary on the Hozelock website:
http://www.hozelock.com/press/hose-ban-can-can-ts.html
Ian
"Cynic" <cyni...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:r5ob3616k2qpvjlsb...@4ax.com...
helicopters to look for the green lawns among all the brown and yellow
ones.....
chris French
<m...@pr100.com> writes
think. Probably on Wednesday.
Ah yes here we are, it's chapter 6 down the bottom of the page.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00swrbr#synopsis>
--
Chris French
Pete
"Stan The Man" <m...@pr100.com> wrote in message
news:4c367347$0$12156$fa0f...@news.zen.co.uk...
My main use for a mains hozepipe is watering stuff in my 800 sq ft
glasshouse - toms, strawberries etc.
I am non- commercial however, so can I carry on ?
Thanks
Regards
Pete
Dave Liquorice
> I cannot see how it could be detected that an underground water system
> was being used, so a ban would be unenforceable.
Apart from your lawn/veg patch being a verdent green when everything
around has turned brown...
--
Cheers
Dave.
Dave Liquorice
>> I heard an item on the radio about hoepipe bans generally, and
what
>> you CAN do in spite of a ban. I can't remember them all, but you
CAN
>> wash the dog or cat,, and even fill up a swimming pool, plus a few
>> other ridiculous things.
It's easier to list the things you can't do: use a hosepipe/sprinkler
to water a private garden and use a hosepipe to was a private car.
> I would be interested to trace that. Do you happen to recall which
> station, programme, time and date?
Might be better digging through the legislation rather that relying
on some journo's interpretation of the Water Industry Acts 1991 and
1999, Water Act 2003 and maybe Water Resources Act 1991 (all as
amended)...
What I find on the web is a consultation period in 2007 which was
aimed at making the legislation less of a mess, I can't quickly find
what the outcome of that consultation was and if the legislation was
changed as a result.
--
Cheers
Dave.
Pete
"Pete" <peter....@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
news:nZCdnYn4veRsTqvR...@bt.com...
Corr - 0 escaped ! s.b. 8000 sq ft (:-)
Roo
Hi Jeanne.
I too am in the currently very damp north west !
There was a report on the BBC local news on wednesday night showing a
lady connecting a hosepipe to one of her water butts - this is
permissable, apparently. When you think about it, you're not taking
from the public supply, and thus not reducing what they've got stored
for us all. In fact, people like you should be positively encouraged
at this time, as if more people like us installed water butts/tanks,
it would be less of a strain on the water co's. For once, logic
reigns (or should that be rains ??!!)
Kind regards.
Stan The Man
There is no law which allows them to ban using a hose connected to a
water butt - although I see from United Utilities Twitter page that
they have "requested" someone not to do so.
http://twitter.com/unitedutilities
Some interesting replies from the UU people there - including:
You can still use a mains drawn hosepipe to fill a watering can or a
water butt!
It looks like they are trying to be helpful to gardeners.
Cynic
<allsortsn...@howhill.com> wrote:
>> I cannot see how it could be detected that an underground water system
>> was being used, so a ban would be unenforceable.
>Apart from your lawn/veg patch being a verdent green when everything
>around has turned brown...
That would be evidence (eventually), but not proof.
--
Cynic
Pete
"Cynic" <cyni...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:oksd36hpsahnib4ac...@4ax.com...
True - you could have been using a watering can
regardless of any other methods not legally usable.
Regards
Pete
www.thecanalshop.com
Stan The Man
> On Fri, 09 Jul 2010 08:53:59 +0100 (BST), "Dave Liquorice"
> <allsortsn...@howhill.com> wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 9 Jul 2010 01:44:44 +0100, Stan The Man wrote:
>>
> <snipped>
>>
>> What I find on the web is a consultation period in 2007 which was
>> aimed at making the legislation less of a mess, I can't quickly find
>> what the outcome of that consultation was and if the legislation was
>> changed as a result.
>
> I have kept the following posting by someone else in an earlier thread
> which may answer your unasked question. Apologies for not crediting
> the original poster as I didn't keep the message headers.
>
> Jake
>
> BEGIN QUOTE:
> As of April we, in England and Wales at least, have new legislation
> called the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 - supposedly to bring
> up
> to date the archaic rules which in the 2006 drought allowed you to
> hose
> down your patio but not your family's veg plot.
>
> In theory, the new legislation is more flexible and gives the water
> companies a wide range of options but not an infinite list of hosepipe
> uses. Each company when threatened by drought can choose one or more
> of the following prohibitions:
>
> (a) watering a garden using a hosepipe;
> (b) cleaning a private motor-vehicle using a hosepipe;
> (c) watering plants on domestic or other non-commercial premises using
> a hosepipe;
> (d) cleaning a private leisure boat using a hosepipe;
> (e) filling or maintaining a domestic swimming or paddling pool;
> (f) drawing water, using a hosepipe, for domestic recreational use;
> (g) filling or maintaining a domestic pond using a hosepipe;
> (h) filling or maintaining an ornamental fountain;
> (i) cleaning walls, or windows, of domestic premises using a hosepipe;
> (j) cleaning paths or patios using a hosepipe;
> (k) cleaning other artificial outdoor surfaces using a hosepipe.
>
> No other hose uses can be banned, hence filling the hen house watering
> trough with a hose is allowed even during a hosepipe ban. Equally,
> using a hosepipe to deliver water to an outdoor shower which is used
> for personal hygiene can't be banned during a hosepipe ban - so we may
> see an increase in the number of outdoor showers positioned close to
> the hanging baskets or growbags.
>
> Interestingly, a water company need not ban a specified use of water
> entirely. It may now limit the scope of a ban by, for example,
> excluding specified groups of customers (eg the elderly and infirm)
> and
> apparatus (eg drip irrigation systems) and restricting the use of
> water
> at specified times only (eg during daylight hours).
>
> But will they? The water companies loved the old-style hosepipe bans
> because they were easy to monitor and grabbed big headlines which
> helped in the propaganda war. United Utilities certainly won't be
> using
> any of its discretionary powers next week when it introduces a blanket
> hosepipe ban (although it has had plenty of time to consider imposing
> less draconian restrictions initially).
>
> Perhaps the better managed, more customer-centric water companies will
> exercise their discretionary powers. Perhaps too those companies with
> a
> growing, soon-to-be-100% base of metered customers will think twice
> before cutting out all hosepipe uses and thereby hurting their
> revenue.
>
> But I fear we may have to wait a long time to see the first
> discretionary hosepipe restrictions.
>
> http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2010/ukpga_20100029_en_4#pt2-l1g36
>
> :END QUOTE
Although this new law was passed in April it isn't yet in force because
it hasn't been enshrined in the water industry regulations. Discussions
are ongoing between the Environment Agency, water industry and other
interested parties to update the regulations but the earliest this
could happen is October, according to my sources. Until then, we and
the water companies are still bound by the old law which bans only two
uses of a mains-fed hose, ie for watering private gardens and washing
private cars. Any other use can't currently be banned.
Pete
"Stan The Man" <m...@pr100.com> wrote in message
news:4c36f200$0$28008$db0f...@news.zen.co.uk...
True and to the geriatric section !
I have just checked on --
http://www.unitedutilities.com/Hosepipeban.htm
and discovered that disabled and blue badge holders are exempt from the ban.
A fair proportion of the group -- including me (:-)
I will still abide by most of the spirit of the thing, by not watering
lawns flowerbeds etc. as I would urge fellow nackards to do as well.
Regards
Pete
www.thecanalshop.com
Pam Moore
Yes, before I read your post I thought "probably You & Yours".
I've listened to it, and that was the bit I heard.
I think the laws need changing about refilling private swimming pools
and hot tubs, and using a pressure washer on a patio. Ponds might
need refilling to preserve the fish etc.
Pam in Bristol
Ed
> We are about to have a hosepipe ban throughout the North West. My
> immediate reaction was not to worry - we have a 5,000 gallon water tank
> filled with rainwater which we hadn't used because the pump system
> wasn't working. My other half now says he can get the pump working so we
> can use this water via our hosepipes.
>
> However, I have got a vague memory of people not being allowed to use
> hosepipes even if they are not connected to the mains water.
>
> Is my memory correct or am I having a senior moment?!!!
>
> Jeanne
On our allotment, we have a permanent hosepipe ban in a sense. You can
never water plants directly with a hose running from the mains water
supply.. You can only use a hose pipe to fill up your barrels (you can
have as many as you like) and then u fill ur water cans from there.
If a ban comes in, then the mains supply will be switched off.. just as
it is in winter time but then that is to insure against bursting pipes
in the cold weather.
Is it the same on other allotment sites?
Flop
> On Wed, 7 Jul 2010 23:02:36 +0100, Mike P wrote:
>>> On Wed, 7 Jul 2010 20:33:45 +0100, "shazzbat"
>>>
>>>> "Pete" <peter....@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
>>>>> We are about to have a hosepipe ban throughout the North West. My
>>>>> immediate reaction was not to worry - we have a 5,000 gallon water tank
>>>>> filled with rainwater which we hadn't used because the pump system
>>>>> wasn't
>>>>> working. My other half now says he can get the pump working so we can
>>>>> use
>>>>> this water via our hosepipes.
>>>>>
>>>>> However, I have got a vague memory of people not being allowed to use
>>>>> hosepipes even if they are not connected to the mains water.
>>>>>
>>>>> Is my memory correct or am I having a senior moment?!!!
>>>> their hospipes to water their gardens with rainwater from tanks etc. Note
>>>> the term "threatened". I doubt whether they would actually prosecute if
>>>> you
>>>> called their bluff. Frankly I doubt if they could legally stop you moving
>>>> your water with your hosepipe.
>>>>
>>>> X-posted to UK.legal, I'm sure they'd like to join in.
>>>>
>>>> Steve
>>>
>>> (was NWW) introduced the ban 17 years ago no-one was prosecuted.
>>>
>>> I think it would be of interest how much water is wasted from leaks
>>> per day - and how much water is used in garden hose-pipes each day.
>> Used to get hosepipe bans regularly when I lived in Greece. You'd find
>> people washing their cars round the back of their houses in the middle of
>> the night with their hose...
>>
> systems that householders are increasingly installing to do the watering
> for them.
A spokesman for United Utilities was interviewed on Radio4.
In summary,
a) he didn't really know what was covered [pressure washers etc]
b) policing would be by neighbours ratting on you [presumably with you
then fessing up]
In short, it is a PR exercise to save water. But not heavy handed enough
to cause people/the media to ask how much water is allowed to waste by
leakage and why investment is not going to renew old [but clean] pipework.
Flop
Stan The Man
Anyone reporting a hose user had better be sure the 'offender' is
definitely using it for an illegal purpose. There may not be many
inches between a garden path (legal to wash down with a hose) and a
garden border (illegal to water with a hose).
Stan The Man
The law *has* been changed and your wishes have been granted - see
section 36 on page 25 (p22 if printed) at
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2010/pdf/ukpga_20100029_en.pdf
Now we're just waiting for it to be enshrined within water industry
regulations so that the water companies can apply it. It won't be soon
though.
Pete
"Stan The Man" <m...@pr100.com> wrote in message
news:4c373fc5$0$2525$da0f...@news.zen.co.uk...
>
> Anyone reporting a hose user had better be sure the 'offender' is
> definitely using it for an illegal purpose. There may not be many inches
> between a garden path (legal to wash down with a hose) and a garden border
> (illegal to water with a hose).
Not forgetting the who they are factor as well (:-)
Regards
Pete
www.thecanalshop.com
Pete
"Ed" <ex@directory> wrote in message
news:tZidnelIXNIGrKrR...@brightview.co.uk...
>
Do not know, but on what grounds will the supply be switched off ?
Regards
Pete
www.thecanalshop.com
Christina Websell
> immediate reaction was not to worry - we have a 5,000 gallon water tank
> filled with rainwater which we hadn't used because the pump system wasn't
> working. My other half now says he can get the pump working so we can use
> this water via our hosepipes.
>
> However, I have got a vague memory of people not being allowed to use
> hosepipes even if they are not connected to the mains water.
>
> Is my memory correct or am I having a senior moment?!!!
>
Dunno, but as you have 5,000 gallons of rainwater you've collected, I'd use
it with a hosepipe when it's dark..just in case your neighbours split on
you.
But, hey, I'm a rebel ;-)
Tina
Nightjar
>
> "Pete" <peter....@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
> news:3tSdnezweYyiCqnR...@bt.com...
>> We are about to have a hosepipe ban throughout the North West. My
>> immediate reaction was not to worry - we have a 5,000 gallon water
>> tank filled with rainwater which we hadn't used because the pump
>> system wasn't working. My other half now says he can get the pump
>> working so we can use this water via our hosepipes.
>>
>> However, I have got a vague memory of people not being allowed to use
>> hosepipes even if they are not connected to the mains water.
>>
>> Is my memory correct or am I having a senior moment?!!!
>
> using their hospipes to water their gardens with rainwater from tanks
> etc. Note the term "threatened". I doubt whether they would actually
> prosecute if you called their bluff. Frankly I doubt if they could
> legally stop you moving your water with your hosepipe.
If it is for a banned purpose, they usually can. The ban is normally on
the use of the hose, irrespective of the source of the water.
However, the bans are usually quite complex and contain lots of
exceptions. The last one we had allowed a hose to be used to fill a pond
if it contained fish but not if there were none. It allowed hoses on
vegetable plots, but not on flower beds.
Being on a water meter, I've gone for a garden that should not need
watering, so hosepipe bans are generally only of academic interest to me.
Colin Bignell
Stan The Man
> shazzbat wrote:
>>
>> "Pete" <peter....@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
>> news:3tSdnezweYyiCqnR...@bt.com...
>>> We are about to have a hosepipe ban throughout the North West. My
>>> immediate reaction was not to worry - we have a 5,000 gallon water tank
>>> filled with rainwater which we hadn't used because the pump system
>>> wasn't working. My other half now says he can get the pump working so
>>> we can use this water via our hosepipes.
>>>
>>> However, I have got a vague memory of people not being allowed to use
>>> hosepipes even if they are not connected to the mains water.
>>>
>>> Is my memory correct or am I having a senior moment?!!!
>>
>> Your memory is correct. People were threatened with legal action for
>> using their hospipes to water their gardens with rainwater from tanks
>> etc. Note the term "threatened". I doubt whether they would actually
>> prosecute if you called their bluff. Frankly I doubt if they could
>> legally stop you moving your water with your hosepipe.
>
> If it is for a banned purpose, they usually can. The ban is normally on
> the use of the hose, irrespective of the source of the water.
> <Snip>
> Colin Bignell
Not true - the ban is specifically upon the use of a hosepipe to
distribute water *supplied by* the water company. So there is no legal
way to ban the use of a hosepipe to distribute collected run-off water
from a water butt or other container.
See http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1991/ukpga_19910056_en_9#pt3-ch3-pb3-l1g76
Pete
"Stan The Man" <m...@pr100.com> wrote in message
news:4c376420$0$12166$fa0f...@news.zen.co.uk...
>>
>> If it is for a banned purpose, they usually can. The ban is normally on
>> the use of the hose, irrespective of the source of the water.
>> <Snip>
>> Colin Bignell
>
> Not true - the ban is specifically upon the use of a hosepipe to
> distribute water *supplied by* the water company. So there is no legal way
> to ban the use of a hosepipe to distribute collected run-off water from a
> water butt or other container.
>
> See
> http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1991/ukpga_19910056_en_9#pt3-ch3-pb3-l1g76
Agreed - there are many misconceptions.
Regards
Pete
www.thecanalshop.com
Mike Ross
wrote:
>shazzbat wrote:
>> Your memory is correct. People were threatened with legal action for
>> using their hospipes to water their gardens with rainwater from tanks
>> etc. Note the term "threatened". I doubt whether they would actually
>> prosecute if you called their bluff. Frankly I doubt if they could
>> legally stop you moving your water with your hosepipe.
>
>If it is for a banned purpose, they usually can. The ban is normally on
>the use of the hose, irrespective of the source of the water.
I don't see how they can lawfully do that. Especially if it's YOUR water; the
water company - a private company! - don't get to tell you that you can't use
water from your butt, swimming pool, pond, or private reservoir or holding tank,
for watering the garden or washing your car! The whole notion is preposterous;
it's YOUR water, your hose, your garden, your pump - none of their bloody
business!
Mike
--
http://www.corestore.org
'As I walk along these shores
I am the history within'
bod
The hosepipe ban is only restricted to the water that the water company
supplies, ie: the mains supply. It does not apply to natural water
collected in a container/butt etc, unless you have filled your container
from the mains of course.
Bod
Paul Hyett
uk.legal :
>
>Anyone reporting a hose user had better be sure the 'offender' is
>definitely using it for an illegal purpose. There may not be many
>inches between a garden path (legal to wash down with a hose) and a
>garden border (illegal to water with a hose).
>
have it 'accidentally' water your vegetables... :p
--
Paul Hyett, Cheltenham
Stan The Man
shazzbat
Mains water on the allotments? Luxury.
We're currently taking water with us.
Steve
andy
>
>vegetable plots, but not on flower beds.
>
A few carrots / lettuces etc. amongst the bedding plants maybe ;-)
JMS
<snip>
>It'll be interesting to see if this ban extends to include irrigation
>systems that householders are increasingly installing to do the watering
>for them.
From UU webpage:
Please note: blue badge holders and customers who are registered
disabled are exempt from the ban.
http://www.unitedutilities.com/Hosepipeban.htm
joe
Couldn't make it up could you?
--
Mike Ross
That's pretty piss-poor; they provide an alleged 'list of examples' but nowhere
could I find a link to actual the text of the ban itself, so I could check the
small print. If they don't even put it somewhere obvious on their website they
can hardly expect to be able to enforce it!
F Murtz
the green bit and hose the red bit