Union boss slams Thames Water’s hosepipe ban as ‘disgraceful’

Thames Water announced today (July 13) that a temporary use ban (TUB – or better known as a hosepipe ban) would be implemented across Oxfordshire, Swindon, Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire.

The temporary ban will come into effect at midnight next Tuesday, July 22.

Thames Water says its is implementing the ban after the driest spring in over a century and England’s warmest June on record.

The ban will mean that residents should not use hosepipes for cleaning cars, watering gardens or allotments, filling pools or cleaning windows.

The temporary ban will not affect businesses where water use is considered essential, for example, garden centres or car washes.

Nevil Muncaster, at Thames Water, said: “This has been a challenging spring and summer with big spikes in customer demand during hot dry days and very little rainfall to replenish local supplies in the Thames Valley.

“Given the continued warm, dry weather we do not anticipate that the situation will improve any time soon so we have to take action now. Every drop of water we use comes from the environment and we have to balance protecting this while taking out the water needed to top up reservoir levels.

“That is why we have had to make the difficult decision to implement a hosepipe ban to make sure there’s enough water for customers’ essential needs and to protect rivers.

“While this TUB will only affect customers in certain areas, I want to thank all our customers for their understanding and for their support so far to reduce their water use. This includes turning the taps off while brushing teeth, taking shorter showers and letting your lawn go dry.”

However, the national officer at the GMB union, Gary Carter, has said Thames Water’s decision is ‘disgraceful’.

He said: “Thames Water lost 200 billion litres of water through leaks last year. That’s 570 million litres wasted every single day - the worst in the country.

“GMB members at Thames Water are working hard and doing the best they can, but they’ve had their hands tied behind their backs by crumbling infrastructure and non-existent investment.

“For Thames Water to now impose a hosepipe ban, while bills rocket, is disgraceful.”