How stupid is the water ban

Originally Posted by Pog66

I'm confused - we have a hosepipe ban in rainy Huntingdon yet the local council is paying people to hand deliver "what do to in a flood" leaflets through the door

and the confusion is......????

[Kymmy]

Originally Posted by Pog66

I'm confused - we have a hosepipe ban in rainy Huntingdon yet the local council is paying people to hand deliver "what do to in a flood" leaflets through the door

Even a flood wouldn't negate the low water levels in most reservoirs... They even have floods in desert regions round the world where the only rainfall comes down in a short time period. In fact rain is likely to run off dry/baked soil more rapidly than wet soil so flooding for a set amount of rain is more prevalent.

[Pog66]

Originally Posted by Kymmy

Even a flood wouldn't negate the low water levels in most reservoirs... They even have floods in desert regions round the world where the only rainfall comes down in a short time period. In fact rain is likely to run off dry/baked soil more rapidly than wet soil so flooding for a set amount of rain is more prevalent.

BUt most of the flooding we have in Cambridgeshire is due to water table level (not may hills for water to rush down) hence my original confusion - most of the river, brook & reservoir levels are low at teh moment so don't quite understand why we need details on flooding.

[Angua]

I note some areas are getting meters forced upon them due to being in areas of "water stress".

[rogerdraig]

Originally Posted by heero_yuy

I think everybody should be metered for their water just as they are for gas, electric, phone etc. Pay for what you use, use less, pay less.

yep so they can charge you more for using less


why not just bring in metered stand pipes for the poor

cant think of a better way to drive down hygine levels in this country myself

Originally Posted by rogerdraig

yep so they can charge you more for using less


why not just bring in metered stand pipes for the poor

cant think of a better way to drive down hygine levels in this country myself

I agree ,although water metering has a number of plus points the one overriding negative point to me is what will it do to the cost .Once the water companies start losing money as a result of people using water more wisely because of metering can only mean prices going up ,variable tariffs being introduced and general mayhem in the industry ,we saw it happen in the gas and electric industries and it will happen in the water industry should metering be compulsory throughout Britain

[rogerdraig]

Originally Posted by heero_yuy

How do you figure that? When you control the amount that you're charged you control the cost.



Wasting water has very little to do with hygeine. You don't need to waste shedloads of water to live a hygeinic existance. That's more to do with understanding how desease and infection is spread.

as said above once water cost to families go down by using wisely they will put up prices to get thier profit margin back justifing by need for investment ect

as to hygine yes i could likely manage with half a cup and a bit of soap but the reality is once you start limiting its use by cost the hygine levels will decrease because you will never be able to educate people to the level needed

[nomadking]

Originally Posted by heero_yuy

I think everybody should be metered for their water just as they are for gas, electric, phone etc. Pay for what you use, use less, pay less.

One issue with that comparison is that heating a room with 4 people in it costs about the same as for 1 person, whereas a bath/shower for 4 people is 4 times the usage. Although households with 1 or 2 people should still pay less than a household with 4 or more. Should it be based on the number of adults, like the community charge(aka poll tax)?

[Angua]

For singles & couples water meters are ideal due to the price vs rateable value. However, for families with 2 or more children even on standard (non wasteful) use the cost often is higher.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by nomadking

One issue with that comparison is that heating a room with 4 people in it costs about the same as for 1 person, whereas a bath/shower for 4 people is 4 times the usage. Although households with 1 or 2 people should still pay less than a household with 4 or more. Should it be based on the number of adults, like the community charge(aka poll tax)?

While I can see that, on the flip side, I am quite careful about how much water I use. I also don't have a dishwasher.

I pay the same as a family of four, who may also have a dishwasher (even the economy models are apparently less efficient in their use of water than using bowls of water), have a washing machine going most of the time and are heavy users of hoses.

[Angua]

The carbon footprint of doing the dishes:
Almost zero CO2e: by hand in cold water (but the plates aren't clean)
540g CO2e: by hand, using water sparingly and not too hot
770g CO2e: in a dishwasher at 55°C
990g CO2e: in a dishwasher at 65°C
8000g CO2e: by hand, with extravagant use of water



Taken from The Guardian

So for a family of 4 a dishwasher is greener & uses LESS water. You cannot compare the use of 1 person washing up in a like for like way with a dishwasher. A couple I know use their dishwasher every 3 days or so. The equivalent to a family of 6.

[Pog66]

There is a suggestion that it is more efficient to wash a car with a hosepipe fitted with a regulator than by using buckets of water

http://www.waterwise.org.uk/news.php...ose-vs.-bucket

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/extreme-wea...-20120423.html

The April washout is set to continue as forecasters predict a month’s worth of rainfall will fall in five days across many parts of Britain.
Forecasters are warning that total rainfall could exceed 60mm in southern counties of England and the north east of Scotland as a system of low pressure from the Atlantic lingers over Britain.

I predict that we will be told that this won't be enough to drop the hosepipe ban...

[Gary L]

They want another 6 months worth of rain before they call of the drought.

where we gonna find 6 months worth of rain from? summer's just around the corner.

it's all a scam.

Originally Posted by Gary L

They want another 6 months worth of rain before they call of the drought.

where we gonna find 6 months worth of rain from? summer's just around the corner.

it's all a scam.

exactly