Hosepipe ban announced

United Utilities logo

The North West’s water company United Utilities has announced that it will impose a hosepipe ban following the driest start to a year since its records began. It is the first hosepipe ban in the North West for 14 years.

The ban will come into force on Friday 9 July 2010 at 6am.

The ban will apply to customers who get their water supply from United Utilities, with the exception of customers in Carlisle, Allerdale, Copeland and the north Eden Valley, where supplies are at reasonable levels.

John Sanders, United Utilities Water Regulation and Strategy Manager, said: "Despite some recent rainfall in the north of the region, reservoir levels are still significantly lower than we would expect at this time of year and are now at a point where we need to impose some temporary restrictions on our customers.

"It is not a decision we have taken lightly, but a hosepipe can use as much water in an hour as a family of four would use in one day. This ban will help us to safeguard essential water supplies to our customers if the drought continues. "

The ban will restrict the use of hosepipes or sprinklers for watering private gardens and washing private cars. Customers can still water their gardens with a watering can and wash their vehicles using a bucket and sponge. These methods typically use a fraction of the amount of water a hosepipe or sprinkler uses.

The move by United Utilities follows the company’s earlier actions to maintain essential supplies, such as maximising water abstraction from ground water supplies and moving water around its regional integrated network of pipes.

The recent rainfall in west Cumbria has eased the situation for customers who get their supply from Ennerdale Water. The company is seeking to place its application for a drought permit at Ennerdale on hold because the amount of available water has increased sufficiently. However this situation is not mirrored in other parts of the region where reservoir levels remain low and the company is applying for further drought permits for other sources in the region.

"We need to be very mindful that we share our water supply with the environment and we all need to do our bit to protect supplies for the benefit not just of our own communities but also our river wildlife,” added Mr Sanders.

Mr Sanders concluded: "We will need much more significant rainfall before the position starts to turn around. We are asking our customers to please observe the hosepipe ban and do what they can to save water in other areas of their daily lives. There are some simple things we can all do such as turning off the tap while brushing your teeth and running washing machines and dishwashers with a full load.”