Darren Johnson, Chair of the London Assembly Environment Committee has attacked the imposition of a hosepipe ban by Thames Water. The ban comes into effect on 3rd April.
Speaking after the ban was officially announced Mr Johnson said:
“We’re no longer facing a crisis – it’s arrived! We’re taking our first step on the slippery slope that ends with water rationing, unless real and concerted action is taken now to address water loss through leakage. A hosepipe ban will not solve the problem – merely defer it.”
Johnson called on the company to do more about water leakage which we described as “the worst in the entire country” adding that the “capital’s water lost through leakage is the highest – nearly 1,000 million litres of water per day were lost in 2004 – enough to fill 17 Olympic sized swimming pools every hour. However, Ofwat, too, cannot escape blame. The regulatory system has been riddled with holes, consistently weak and ineffective and no effort whatsoever have been made to address it.”
Thames Water has called for public support and the adoption of measures such as switching off the water while brushing your teeth – a move the company says can save “up to six litres of water per minute”
However Johnson warns “there is a real danger that the public will not heed official advice to stop wasting water if they continue to see the water company as the biggest culprit.”
