19 January 2007
Water restrictions, including a hosepipe ban, have finally been lifted in the south-east of England, following a two-year drought.
Consumers living in areas controlled by Thames Water, Three Valleys Water, Southern Water and Sutton and East Surrey Water are now free to use hose pipes to wash their cars, water their plants and fill their ponds, although recent downpours mean that they probably won't need to for some time.
Despite the large number of rainy days the south has experienced recently, Mid Kent Water and South East Water are keeping their hosepipe ban in place for the foreseeable future.
Thames Water said that consumers played a large part in water conservation, which allowed the company to raise its ban, but it is appealing to its customers to continue to use water sensibly to prevent a new drought beginning in the summer.
Richard Aylard, external affairs and environment director at Thames Water, said: "Our customers responded very positively to our appeals to use water wisely. We remain extremely grateful for their help.
"Combined with the hosepipe ban, it helped ensure that we could maintain essential supplies throughout last year, despite the two previous very dry winters.
"But we do need to ask all our eight million customers to keep saving water wherever they can. Amazingly enough, London receives less rain than Rome, Dallas or Istanbul, so we need everybody to make water saving a part of their everyday lives, all year round," he concluded.
Hosepipe bans and water shortages remind us that we need to do our utmost for the planet. Read uSwitch.com's water saving ideas and see if you can save money by switching to a water meter.
© 2008 Adfero Ltd
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