Hosepipes banned as United Utilities loses 460m litres of water a day

Jul 7 2010 by Wirral News, Wirral News Series

A HOSEPIPE ban is being imposed on Merseyside – as water is diverted to Manchester.

Using hosepipes to water gardens and clean cars will be outlawed from Friday because of a supply crisis.

Water company bosses have announced that the North West will see its first hosepipe ban in 14 years. They claim it is necessary because the first six months of the year were drier than expected and reservoirs in Cumbria are running low. Those reservoirs supply Greater Manchester and supply is now being diverted from the River Dee and Lake Vyrnry which supply Merseyside and which remain relatively healthy. Around two thirds comes from the river, which flows from Snowdonia, through Chester and past Wirral, and the rest comes from the lake.

UU’s water regulation and strategy manager John Sanders said: “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. 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.” But the Wirral News can reveal United Utilities (UU) loses more water per day than almost all other water companies. Around 460m litres are lost through leaks, almost one in every four litres of water that comes through our taps. Only Thames Water and Severn Trent lose more.

UU, which made a £500m pre-tax profit last year and whose chief executive Philip Green was awarded a £924,000 bonus, said fixing leaks is one of its top priorities.

The company is investing £200m over the next five years on improving its pipe network and industry regulator OFWAT said UU did beat its leakage target by 5m litres a day and was ranked as one of the best performing companies in the UK.

A UU spokeswoman said: “Leaks are a major focus for us. We’re asking people to be water wise and we need to be water wise too.

“We have halved the amount of leakage since the last draught in 1995/96.”“We have got more engineers on the streets and we’re working extended hours and the weekends to get to all reports of leaks. 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 John. "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.”