Hosepipe ban now in force

United Utilities have announced a hosepipe ban despite the North West receiving more rain than most regions of England. The ban came into force this morning, Friday 9th July, at 6.00am.

While the north-west has actually been one of the wettest areas of the country this year with 339mm of rain, compared with a nationwide average of 311.7mm, that is well down on normal.

The ban will apply to all UU customers in the North West, with the exception of customers in parts of Cumbria, where supplies are at reasonable levels.

John Sanders, United Utilities Water Regulation and Strategy Manager, says: "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. "

UU say the ban will restrict the use of hosepipes or sprinklers for watering private gardens and washing private cars. You can still water your gardens with a watering can and wash your vehicles using a bucket and sponge.

Local water users may be interested to know that United Utilities (UU) has been named by regulator Ofwat as the third worst offender for leaks, with almost one in four litres of water that comes through household taps lost through leaking pipes.

The water company loses 460million litres a day in leaks. For comparison, the average four-person household uses 600 litres of water a day.

Audlem has seen some leaks continue for months without a repair – one resulted in Audlem Online running a competition to name the UU sourced river that ran for a long time across Shropshire Street. Given the company's response and refusal to accept responsibility, the winning name was de-Nile.

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