Despite positive comments from Thames Water this weekend stating that the hosepipe ban being lifted was “increasingly likely”, they refused to name a date. Although we’ve recently seen higher than average rainfall, widespread flooding and reservoirs filled to the top, an end to the ban is still not the wisest option according to weather experts.
The crux of the matter in the South is that water companies need groundwater levels to have risen sufficiently to fill underground aquifers as well as the more visible reservoirs and rivers. And staff at the Met Office believe we need months more rain to be sure of continued water supplies come spring and summer.
A Thames Water spokesperson stated: “It looks increasingly likely that we will lift the ban – but not yet. We are keeping the ban under constant review and will lift it as soon as we can. We want to make absolutely sure that we are in a safe position for next spring and summer.”
The problem that we see with all this is the one we’ve been mentioning for the last year or so. If a ban needs to be in place in the middle of a wet January after months of above-average rainfall – when will it ever be lifted and should it be lifted at all, given the current infrastructure? Surely the Government needs to address more seriously better ways of collecting and keeping the huge amounts of rain this country see during the winter months?