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Severn Trent Warning over Hosepipe Use

Water pressure problems in parts of the Midlands has been blamed on gardeners using hosepipes and sprinklers overnight. As a result, Severn Trent Water are asking their customers not to use hosepipes and sprinklers overnight.

Marcus O’Kane, water resources manager for Severn Trent said: “This weekend, in addition to what our customers would normally use, we supplied an extra 350 million litres of water”. This weekend just gone having been the hottest of 2013 so far.

Severn Trent say that gardeners shouldn’t worry about the condition of their lawns as “watering established lawns is not only wasteful and unnecessary, but can cause many common lawn problems”.

Interestingly Severn Trent finish off by pointing out their policy on hosepipe/sprinkler use: “If you choose to use a garden sprinkler or other automatic garden watering devices you must have a meter fitted. This is because these devices can use more water in an hour than a family of four does in two days! Plus, if you use a sprinkler during hot, dry weather, demand can soar and affect supplies to other customers”

See their full press release here: Don’t sprinkle while you sleep

What do you think about Severn Trent’s opinions on gardening and hosepipe use? Please comment below.

8 replies on “Severn Trent Warning over Hosepipe Use”

If more people was on a meter they wouldn’t waste water. Water is precious you can use the washing up water to water plants that’s what I do help to save water and money

Joe // July 17, 2013 at 11:44 am // Reply

I don’t think this is unreasonable. We’re talking about reduced pressure, not a reduced supply of water.

If you live some distance from the supply source (or booster station or whatever), and everyone upstream of your property has a lawn sprinkler switched on, you’ll be lucky to get much more than a dribble out of your taps.

The obvious solution would seem to be that Severn Trent should increase the pressure at source “ but increasing pressure sufficiently to cure problems at the far end will probably mean that pipes close to the source will be carrying water at a pressure way above their safe limit. That will inevitably lead to burst pipes and interruptions to supply.

Asking gardeners to consider those folks who live out in the sticks before turning on the sprinkler hose is, I think, a sensible request.

I would think that a lot of people are not aware that to use a sprinkler or automatic watering system that they need to be on a water metre.. Maybe a little more shod be done by Severn Trent to make people aware that they should be.. Even a telephone number to report users anomously might help.. After all water is precious commodity that a lot of people take for granted. Or better still make it compulsory to bo metered.

I agree with Joe ! Let’s not be unreasonable ! Water is a precious resource afterall.

But I am metered so I think I have greater say over how much I want to use (considering it is there anyway currently) as I pay for it on a PAYG.

However, my hose/tap are at the side of my property (on a main thoroughfare) …… and someone (who ????) turned it on full blast on Saturday night whilst it was still left dangling at the veg plot (lazy hubby!).

Maybe it’s pranksters etc that are turning them all on at night ????

I don’t think this is unreasonable. We’re talking about reduced pressure, not a reduced supply of water.

If you live some distance from the supply source (or booster station or whatever), and everyone upstream of your property has a lawn sprinkler switched on, you’ll be lucky to get much more than a dribble out of your taps.

The obvious solution would seem to be that Severn Trent should increase the pressure at source – but increasing pressure sufficiently to cure problems at the far end will probably mean that pipes close to the source will be carrying water at a pressure way above their safe limit. That will inevitably lead to burst pipes and interruptions to supply.

Asking gardeners to consider those folks who live out in the sticks before turning on the sprinkler hose is, I think, a sensible request.

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