It’s really very simple at the moment.

Banned:

Washing of private vehicles with a hosepipe. This includes cars, vans, caravans, trailers and motorhomes

Watering of private gardens with a hosepipe or sprinkler. This includes lawns, flower beds and ornamental gardens.

Watering private allotments with a hosepipe or sprinkler.

Allowed:

Using a watering can in the garden.

Using a bucket and sponge to wash your car.

Watering and cleaning animals and animal areas (ie: yards and stables)

Topping up a pond

Of course these rules may change if the drought becomes worse in the region. Another common question is “does this ban cover where I live?”. We suggest using the postcode finder on United Utilities home page for the answer.

Reservoirs in the region are expected to fall further than their already low levels during July and August.

“Environmental damage” is also a risk in the South West, Wales and central England said the agency.

In spite of the large amount of snow over the winter, much of the country has recorded below average rainfall for each month so far.

From January to April the North West and Wales had their driest first four months since 1964 and 1976 respectively, the agency said.

The Environment Agency’s national drought coordinator Stuart Sampson, said that water levels in one Lake District reservoir which should be 80 per cent full at this time of year had fallen below 69 per cent.

“Other nearby reservoirs are similarly low. All of these reservoir levels are declining at a rate that is similar to the 1995/96 drought. However, any substantial rainfall could reverse this position.” - Mr. Sampson added.

To see the latest situation in all areas, look at our Current Situation Page

The regulator is demanding that water companies help customers save at least 23 million litres of water a day (Ml/d), or an average saving of one litre per property per day.

These targets would see water companies increasing activity to help customers save an estimated 40 per cent more water, when compared with the past three years. The water saved would fill more than 3,300 Olympic swimming pools every year. This reduction would come on top of savings from targets on leakage from pipes, and increasing water metering.

Average household consumption per head across England and Wales in 2007/08 was 148 litres a day, but the water usage of households varies significantly from company to company.

Regina Finn, Ofwat Chief Executive, said:

“Water is an increasingly valuable resource and we all have a responsibility to conserve it. Successes in Europe show that helping households to use water wisely can save significant amounts of water, reducing the need for expensive new sources.

“Some companies need to do more to help customers cut waste and use water efficiently. This is good customer service and helps customers on meters control their bills.

“Companies will be stretched by these targets, but this is about customers getting a fair deal, and using water sustainably.”

When it comes to the amount of water used by households, England and Wales lags significantly behind many of our European neighbours, including Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.

Germany has benefited from water efficiency drives. Average consumption was reduced by 15 per cent (22 litres) between 1990 - 2005 to 125 litres per person per household per day.

If England and Wales followed Germany’s lead and reduced household consumption by 22 litres per person per day, enough water could be saved to supply the needs of the combined population of London, Birmingham and Cardiff.1

In the Netherlands household usage was reduced to 124 litres per person per day by 2004 - a reduction of approximately ten per cent over ten years. A key factor in this reduction was an increase in usage of devices such as water saving toilets and shower heads.

Companies must deliver savings by providing household and business customers with information on how to use water sensibly. They must also promote the use of water saving devices. The water efficiency targets exclude savings from supply pipe repairs and replacements.

Ofwat will not allow customers’ bills to rise to achieve these targets, which will be introduced on a trial basis from April 2009 and come into full effect in 2010.

The targets will help companies play their part in achieving the Government’s long term ambition of reducing individual water usage to 130 litres per person per day from its current level of around 150 litres.

Dame Yve Buckland, Chair of the Consumer Council for Water, said: “Competition to date has not served business customers well. While competition for some business customers has existed since 2005, no one has switched supplier. Only about 2,000 businesses are currently eligible, and there is little financial advantage for them to make the change. Business customers have told us that they are frustrated at this lack of progress.”

Research launched last week by the Consumer Council for Water and Ofwat has shown, however, that household customers have mixed feelings about whether or not they would like the opportunity to choose their water and sewerage provider.

According to the research, fifty seven per cent of customers said that they supported the principle of competition in the water industry. When they understood that in practice some customers could be worse off, only a third of those surveyed still supported competition, one third did not, and the rest were unsure.

Dame Yve continued: “If competition for household customers is to happen it needs to live up to customers’ expectations, deliver tangible benefits, and those benefits need to outweigh the costs.

“While ninety per cent of customers said that they are happy with the service they receive from their supplier, they are not as happy about the cost. Those customers that welcome competition believe that it would lead to lower prices, with most saying that they would expect to save 20 per cent by switching supplier.

“The government needs to decide if competition in the water industry could realistically deliver that. If not, customers will need to be convinced of how competition would, in practice, benefit them. They will also want assurances that lessons have been learned from mistakes in other sectors. Less than half of those surveyed (forty eight per cent) thought that competition in gas and electricity has been good for customers.

“We look forward to working alongside Ofwat and government on their reviews of competition, so that the views of consumers, business and domestic, form the basis of any changes to the system.”

The Cave Review recommends:

• the introduction of legislation to allow 28,000 then 162,000 large public and private sector organisations in England and Wales to choose their water and sewerage retailer for the first time.

• retail divisions of water companies should be made legally independent from their network business.

• a series of changes to incentivise new water and wastewater suppliers to enter the market.

These recommendations aim to reduce costs and increase service levels for all customers; support the more efficient use of water; and help companies to better meet the challenges facing the industry including climate change, containing costs, rising consumer expectations, and water efficiency.

Launching the interim report, Professor Martin Cave said:
“Extending competition will deliver real benefits for customers and the environment through lower prices, more choice, higher service levels and the better use of water. These changes could benefit the economy by around £600 million over the next 30 years.”

The final report and further recommendations will be delivered in spring 2009.

• Of the 414 bathing waters in England, 398 met the mandatory standards;

• Only 16 failed the standards, meaning there was a compliance rate of 96.1 per cent; and

• A total of 272 waters met the UK’s much tighter guideline standard. Bathing water quality has improved over the past decade - in 1998, only 89.9 per cent of England’s bathing waters met the Directive’s mandatory standards. This rose to a record 99.5 per cent in 2006.

Exceptionally wet weather in July, August and September has resulted in the slightly lower standard of the water this year. Ten of the 16 failing bathing waters are in the South West, which was hit hard by heavy rainfall during the summer. Rainfall causes pollutants from agriculture and urban areas to run off, with negative impacts on the quality of bathing waters. Defra is working with farmers to reduce water pollution from agricultural sources, through the Catchment Sensitive Farming Delivery Initiative and the Nitrate Action Programme. Dealing with diffuse water pollution is a difficult job as it has a huge variety of sources and Defra is looking at a number of ways of tackling the problem, including the encouragement of sustainable drainage systems and correction of sewer misconnections, and regulations to control misuse of the drainage system.

The application would have resulted in more than 250,000 consumers having a significant increase in their water bills. Ofwat’s draft decision means the prices the company can charge will remain unchanged.

Regina Finn, Ofwat Chief Executive, said:

“It’s Ofwat’s job to make sure that customers get a fair deal from monopoly water companies. The onus was on the company to convince us that higher bills were necessary.

“That’s why, after carefully scrutinising the application, we have provisionally rejected the request to increase prices.

“We are confident that Sutton and East Surrey Water have the necessary finance in place to provide the quality of service customers expect.”

Sutton and East Surrey applied to increase prices due to increased energy costs and a claimed substantial and unforeseen shortfall in revenue. They stated the shortfall came as a consequence of water restrictions due to a drought in 2006 and heavy rainfall in 2007.

Ofwat is not convinced that these circumstances threaten the ability of Sutton and East Surrey to finance its functions up until 2010 when Ofwat will set prices for a further five years. Ofwat also concluded that a significant proportion of Sutton and East Surrey’s additional power costs could have been avoided through prudent management.

There will be a consultation period until 26 November 2008 for customers and the company. Ofwat will announce the final decision in December 2008.

The fine has been confirmed following Ofwat’s proposal to fine the company in August 2008, following an accounting error that led to the company misreporting information in its June return 2006. Neither the amount of the fine nor our reasons for proposing it have changed.

Tendring Hundred Water will bear the entire cost of this fine. It will not be passed on to the company’s customers.

Around three quarters of a household’s energy use relates to heating and hot water use, for example, in baths or showers or for washing clothes or dishes.

By cutting water wastage through the following easy steps, families should see a reduction in their energy bill, and those who are charged for their water by meter should see a reduction in their water bill as well.

• Replace worn washers on leaky taps. A dripping hot water tap wastes energy and in one week wastes enough hot water to fill half a bath.

• Take a five minute shower instead of a bath, or go one step further and install a water saving shower head, which can cut the amount of water used by about 30 per cent.

• When putting the kettle on to boil, only fill it with as much water as necessary. Two-thirds of us waste energy by boiling more water than we need.

• Make sure that the dishwasher or washing machine is completely full before turning it on, and avoid using the half load setting. Half-load cycles use much more than half the energy and water of a full load.

• Washing machines use huge amounts of energy, 90 per cent of which is through heating water, by reducing the temperature from 40 to 30 degrees, energy consumption will be reduced by 40 per cent.

• The hot water cylinder thermostat should be set at 60C or 140F. Any higher is a waste of energy and could lead to scalding; any lower and there may a risk of legionella.

• Insulate the boiler to avoid wasting energy to keep it hot. Fitting a jacket to the boiler that is at least 75mm thick could save around £30 each year.

Dame Yve Buckland, Chair of the Consumer Council for Water, said: “At a time when so many household bills are rising, people may be looking for ways to make every penny count. Taking five minutes to consider these water and energy saving tips could pay off in the long run, and have the added benefit of helping to reduce your carbon footprint.”

A full list of water saving tips is available at http://www.ccwater.org.uk