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    England’s reservoirs at lowest level for a decade as experts call for hosepipe bans
    United Kingdom

    England’s reservoirs at lowest level for a decade as experts call for hosepipe bans

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    45 Comments

    1. TheCrunker on

      Probably should have built more reservoirs given the mammoth amount of rain we seem to have

    2. TtotheC81 on

      Boy, some of that £85 billion the companies have paid out to shareholders sure would have been nice, right about now. Imagine having public facilities not burdened with £60 billion in debt, that actually had the funds to invest in climate change related projects…

    3. RooBoy04 on

      Hosepipe ban for us commoners, but water companies are more than happy to just sit around while pipes are leaking and then pay their shareholders billions

    4. whybetty on

      Ah the type of experts that would rather blame domestic users and normal people than water companies who drag their feet fixing leaks which results in the loss of 20% of all treated water in the UK. And they wonder why nobody likes experts anymore.

    6. Beneficial-Pitch-430 on

      Good thing we don’t lose 2.5 billion litres of water a day through leaks then! Oh wait…

    7. broketoliving on

      all our water systems and sewage works were built by the victorians, the amount of extra people since then with not investing

    8. c64z86 on

      If I see someone using a hosepipe, I won’t report them… Not that I ever did anyway.

      With all the money these companies are losing though leaks? And the insane profits they have reeled in and they still have not invested enough in the infrastructure?

      It doesn’t seem fair does it? I won’t be fair to them in return. Fix your leaks before you start telling us to reduce our water usage.

    9. Pale_Lobster_823 on

      What about the ever increasing amounts of both water and electricity being consumed by huge data centres. Yet so called experts call for a hose pipe ban and most likely raise water bills for ordinary households.

    10. NSFWaccess1998 on

      Friendly reminder that nobody has ever been fined for a hosepipe infraction. If these criminal water corporations want to start trying to take people to court then… We will see. Personally I doubt they will bother.

    12. Deacon86 on

      Instead of fixing the leaks which are pissing billions of litres of water away, water firms have chosen to pay out dividends to shareholders and bonuses to executives. And now that they’re running out of water, they want to make it our problem. Taking the absolute piss.

    13. teachbirds2fly on

      Wonder if this is possibly linked to not building any new Resouviours in 30 years….

    14. I_love_running_89 on

      They can fuck right off.

      We’ve just had 2 of the wettest years, back to back, since records began.

      We also have a temperate climate. Water isn’t in short supply, here.

      But they’ve used money they should have spent on improving existing infrastructure to prevent leaks (millions of litres per day), and building new infrastructure, on bonuses and dividends.

      Oh, and water bills continue to rise for the rest of us plebs.

      Again, they can fuck right off. I’ll be using my hose pipe as I like, cheers.

      Edit – I forgot to also mention all the pollution and effluent dumps. Just to add to the above. Shithouses.

    15. SkynBonce on

      Pretty sure the only way the current government can “take back control” of our public infrastructure and actually fix these problems, would be armed takeover… Which I’m sure we’d support?

    16. Odd-Currency5195 on

      I got in touch with our water company because the company north of our region has imposed a hose pipe ban. Got this response:

      >we don’t have a hosepipe ban at the moment. We haven’t had any in many years, we do try not to do this. …

      >We’re working round the clock to manage the impact of what has been the driest Spring in the East of England for over 100 years. Protecting the environment and the vital agricultural sector in the region in the face of such unusually dry conditions means doing everything we can to leave as much water in the environment as possible. Customers have been doing their bit, and whilst our reservoir levels are relatively close to normal, river levels across the region are very low.

      I’ve recently moved to where I am now and am totally used to hosepipe bans. It was interesting to read ‘We haven’t had any in many years. We do try not to do this.’

    17. jamiea10 on

      Am I missing something here. The graph in the article shows the current levels are pretty much the same as 2022 was at this time of year and in 2022 the levels dropped at their lowest point to just under 50%. The hosepipe bans and all the news surrounding this seems a bit hysterical for what appears to be very little reason.

    18. all-park on

      Everyone needs to say f off to the ban. We get this consistently when we know it’s the poor infrastructure that leaks so much water. Imprison water bosses and seize the assets as a national emergency

    19. efeberenguer on

      As someone from a quite dry Southern European town living in the UK it still baffles me that:

      * My water bill is based on an estimate, not on the reading of a meter like power or gas
      * After a decade I am yet to see an [aerator](https://www.savemoneycutcarbon.com/learn-save/what-are-tap-aerators-and-how-do-they-work/#:~:text=Aerators%2C%20also%20called%20flow%20regulators,no%20difference%20in%20flow%20pressure) in a tap anywhere in this country

      Anyway, keep using it like it falls from the sky…

    20. Special-Armadillo780 on

      So let me get this right, I can’t water my vegetables in my garden but the farmer next door can literally all day water their potatoes in the field, I’m talking a lot of water.

    22. Ulysses1978ii on

      Have the water companies invested in infrastructure to deal with the increase in population or have they continually lined their own pockets?

    23. plawwell on

      It’s not heat that Brits should be concerned about. It’s the forthcoming plunging winter temperature turning the UK into a frozen tundra. That’s the real consequence of global warming for Britain. Rather than worry about it being too hot, I’d suggest to buy a snow blower from B&Q.

    24. Zardoz_Wearing_Pants on

      why aren’t the bosses of water companies in prison. oh yeah, the regulator (full of industry players) and the government peeps would have to be there too. 

    25. XenorVernix on

      I live near Kielder reservoir, it’s huge. When it was built it was laughed at for being too big and unnecessary. White elephant they said. Turns out it was an example of a water company doing the right thing and investing in the future water needs. Maybe more water companies need to follow that example.

    26. Ninereedss on

      As long as the golf course up the road keeps its lush green grass I will continue to water my tomatoes, thanks.

    27. digidigitakt on

      Hmm. Well. Maybe if they were poorly run by corrupt boards they’d not be in this mess and we wouldn’t have to bail them out.

      Time to jail them and take back what should be publicly owned.

    28. AnfarwolColo on

      This country drives me absolutely insane.

      The private ownership of water since 1989 has resulted in £78 billion paid in dividends, mostly to foreign-owned companies, many of which do not pay tax in this country. It has resulted in a £60 billion debt collectively and £9.1 million has been paid to chief executives in utterly excessive salaries.

      Im furious.

    29. amytee252 on

      How about experts call for the fixing of leaks? That’ll save more than a hosepipe ban.

    30. chrispbaconbutty on

      How’s about this? Experts call for investment into the water system that have provided dividends for investors over many years.

    31. noodle_dreamer on

      So this means they’ll do the same for those golf courses too, right? Right..??

    32. Responsible-Berry138 on

      Drove into Birmingham airport yesterday. Water pipe burst and filled half of the roundabout. Pathetic

    33. TurnLooseTheKitties on

      I thought the idea of privatisation was that the privateers were going to improve our water supply infrastructure, I mean, that’s what we were told

    34. Durovigutum on

      Quick – let me vote Reform UK so we can have even more great Thatcherite policies like utility privatisation. I really think the NHS will be better private, because the main man Farage says so. Can’t wait.

    36. frequently_grumpy on

      No new reservoirs build since 1989 and yet there’s been a population boom. As is often the case the issue isn’t a scarcity of resources but an over abundance of cunts runnings things that are promoted by nothing more than greed.

    39. themeakster on

      The perfect time for a mass action where nobody pays their bill. Force the fuckers into bankruptcy.

    41. slip_cougan on

      It is time for the government to call a national emergency on the state of our reservoirs, rivers, and climate and take back ownership of water companies.

    42. Budpets on

      hosepipe ban is the same thinking as swapping plastic straws for paper will cure climate change.

    43. Thomo251 on

      The Dunning Kruger effect in these comments is astounding. So many experts on the water industry and how water resources are managed in this country.

      If only half of the commenters on this post we’re in charge, aye.

    44. Knighty5679 on

      It’s almost like the water companies chose to ignore that global warming was actually a thing