UTILITY WEEK | SEPTEMBER 2022 |
5
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Hosepipe bans represent a
missed opportunity
Water company executives travelling to work this last month may well have taken a detour to
avoid any newspaper stands on their route.
For a sector that is desperate to keep a low pro le, front pages screaming about hosepipe
bans for millions and outrage over perceived requests to "grass up a granny" are about as
unwelcome as it gets.
The temporary usage bans imposed by a number of water companies were never going
to be welcomed, of course. Despite the mass compliance with far more onerous restrictions
over the past few years, there is a unique kind of intransigence sparked by a hosepipe ban,
as if there was some constitutional right for an Englishman to bear a sprinkler.
It's disconcerting to see how the media coverage of the hosepipe bans disproportionately
focused on minor inconveniences for customers versus the underlying implications of the
twin records of low rainfall and high demand. One article about the ban in Pembrokesh-
ire, which has seen the driest conditions since 1976, included the following quote from an
outraged resident: "I'm pretty horri ed because how am I going to water my tomatoes?" I'm
not trying to downplay the implications of water restrictions on some consumers, but this
almost seems to be playing it for laughs. It is in contrast to other elements of media coverage
around the heatwave, where even The Telegraph seems to be reluctantly admitting we prob-
ably should do something about climate change.
The inevitable challenge to a hosepipe ban is why perfectly good tomatoes should be sac-
ri ced when huge volumes of water are still being lost through leakage. It's a fair question in
many ways and an area the industry accepts it needs to do better. Water UK has persistently
made the point that real improvement on leakage needs proper investment. The trade body
points to the examples of Japan and Germany, which have tackled leakage through a strat-
egy of wholesale replacement of pipes, but also highlights the huge cost involved.
There is a clear need for the government to be bolder on investment but it's also undeni-
able that reducing demand – whether energy or water – needs to involve the public as active
participants.
This is a message that the water sector in particular is still struggling to communicate,
especially in the context of hosepipe bans. There is an understandable reluctance to put the
onus on consumers but surely this is a golden opportunity to highlight the consequences of
continued high consumption in an age of more frequent droughts.
It seems to me that this opportunity to link the current situation with long-term demand
use is still being missed. It's a topic Ruth Williams discusses in her analysis on p8 and one
that will be explored in full at the Utility Week Forum in November.
James Wallin, editor, jameswallin@fav-house.com
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