Topic: Hose Pipe ban

[Digeroo]

Last time there was a ban I siphoned the water out of the bath with a hosepipe.  There is not much pressure but it dribbles out slowly into the veg.  Does anyone know if it allowed this time? 

Quote

Thames Water Utilities Limited gives notice to all of its customers, that the potable* water it supplies throughout its entire area must not be used for the following purposes:

1. watering a ‘garden’ using a hosepipe; etc etc

Since the bath water is no longer potable it should not apply.

Perhaps what niggles me is that they have said that the hosepipe ban will only save 5% of the water, so it adversely affects veg growers for very little gain. 

[claybasket]

I was told today that anyone with a blue badge for a disablement is  exempt from the hose pipe ban?

[Digeroo]

Seems to be correct and includes allotments,

http://www.thameswater.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/corp/hs.xsl/15443.htm

[chriscross1966]

Exemptions

The following will be exempted from the restriction:

.....

    drip or trickle irrigation watering systems, fitted with a pressure reducing valve and a timer, that are not handheld, that place water drip by drip directly onto the soil surface or beneath the soil surface,without any surface run off or dispersion of water through the air using a jet or mist.
...

Hooray... my greenhouse is OK.... we can't use hoses on allotments anyway, it'll be a minor pain to ahve to do the garden beds with cans but I have two and big buckets so I can leave a bucket filling while I water with cans and then fill cans from bucket while another bucket fills.........

[TISH]

If you can use a hosepipe to fill up a watering can, then can you use it to fill up a water tank?

[BarriedaleNick]

You cant use a pipe to fill up watering cans - there was a rep from Thames Water on Radio 4 last week saying just that. 

[elvis2003]

this is a bug bear of mine and one Im sick of reading about...why would anyone want to use a hose pipe anyway? save your own water and mulch people!

[galina]

Used bath water is in effect sewerage.  I draw mine out of the bath tub with a bulb marine primer pump into a garden hosepipe, out of the window into a muckbucket on the ground outside, then dip watering cans into that for established plants.  Newly transplanted seedlings get 'clean' water butt water.

We can use hosepipes on stored water, say from water butts and for 'sewerage' transport.  Anglian water only prohibits hosepipe use for clean mains water.

Interestingly mains water trickle irrigation is still permitted, if a timer is used and if a water pressure control is in the system.  Last year hubby bought me for my birthday an automatic greenhouse watering system for holiday use and this is still legal during the hosepipe ban!  Yay!!!  :)  It is on a timer for half an hour trickle irrigation first thing in the morning and late in the evening when we are away.  This keeps the greenhouse going unless it is very hot and does not use much mains water (we are on a meter and have always watered the garden with stored and grey water alone).

[galina]

You cant use a pipe to fill up watering cans - there was a rep from Thames Water on Radio 4 last week saying just that. 

That is what I understand, but you can place a watering can underneath an outside tap, if you must use mains water.

[chriscross1966]

Since the ban came in it has rained every day and is due to do so for the next few too.... irony  is ironical after all....

[lottie lou]

Since the ban came in it has rained every day and is due to do so for the next few too.... irony  is ironical after all....

I always said the Good Lord has a very perverse sense of humour. 

[gp.girl]

Since the ban came in it has rained every day and is due to do so for the next few too.... irony  is ironical after all....

They really should have put it though last month then   ::)

[Digeroo]

It may have rained everyday with you Chris but a few miles away all we have had is a bit of p"""ing in the wind.  Still at it.  Only two or three litres in the water butt this morning.  The surface of the soil is damp but underneath nothing.

[chriscross1966]

Yeah, I was on the plot yesterday and the soil was still pretty easy to dig and not what you'd call wet.... Will put out some broadbeans now they're past interesting to the mice this weekend and ahve another look.... will also scatter the manure for the potatoes... first BB's will be acting as tester for weedkiller (I have lots of ther BB's so if disaster strikes I'll still have a crop but I won't havve made life harder for my shelling beans...