A hosepipe ban is coming into force in Sussex and Kent from today, with fines of up to £1,000 for anyone who decides to break it.
The latest ban comes from South East Water who have said that demand for drinking water in Kent and Sussex reached record levels in June – with customers using a similar amount of water as in the drought last year.
They say they have been left with no choice but to restrict the use of hosepipes and sprinklers within our Kent and Sussex supply areas until further notice.
Many house owners have complained that they have been suffering with poor water supply for months, with some having to use bottled water as their tap pressure has been non-existent.
Some have been quick to blame the old Victorian plumbing and the number of leaks for the current issues. This is certainly one of the causes but perhaps not the main reason.
With the growing population and a huge number of new housing estates filling the corners of Kent, there are more people living in the South-East than ever before. For every new house, there is a fresh demand for water – and the water companies nor the Government have put in the required infrastructure for this.
There has been no allowance for the increased use of water in the area. There have been no reservoirs built, not alternative water supplies put in place. In the same way that there are no new schools or doctor surgeries build to support these massive housing estates, the water is now facing the same issues.
We had only enjoyed a few weeks of warm weather when the first murmurings of a hosepipe ban surfaced. Surely we deserve a better supply than one that can only cope with a week of sun or less?
Our leaders are not leading and we are in for another summer of having hosepipe bans enforced upon us. This seems to be a regular occurrence now and one which we will probably have to face each year from now on.
It is about time that housing developers were made to work with water companies to ensure that for every new house built, there is an adequate water supply for that property to last through the duration of a summer.