Public 'should be charged more for washing cars' (From Daily Echo)
When news happens, text SDE and your photos or videos to 80360. Or contact us by email and phone.
Public 'should be charged more for washing cars'
7:00am Thursday 7th June 2012 in Environment
Public 'should be charged more for washing cars'
Meters which charge households more for using extra water to wash cars and water gardens are needed to help tackle shortages, engineers have said.
Despite the recent heavy rain, this year's drought has highlighted the problems surrounding the UK's water supplies, which the Institution of Civil Engineers warns are at a ''critical'' point.
The security of the country's water supply is likely to worsen with a growing population and changes to the UK's rainfall as a result of climate change.
The engineering body said measures were needed, ranging from the construction of new reservoirs and small scale water storage to making it easier to share resources between water companies and encouraging homeowners to save water.
Water use in the home could be cut by around a third, the ICE estimates, but as consumers pay just £1 a day for unlimited water use there is little incentive to value the resource.
Universal water metering with discretionary tariffs that charge households more for high water use for non-essential activities such as cleaning the car, along with social tariffs to protect vulnerable customers, should be introduced, according to engineers.
New properties could be built with systems that recycle rainwater for use in flushing toilets, which use around 30% of the drinkable water supplied to homes.
And urban areas should have drainage systems which retain rainwater so it can be stored or used to recharge groundwater levels, rather than just channelling it straight into drains and out into rivers.
But the ICE ruled out the construction of a ''national water grid'' which could pipe water across the country from areas of high rainfall to places with high demand.
The ICE said such a system would be ''extremely costly'' and energy intensive and would take many years to construct - by which time the situation would have worsened.
Michael Norton, chairman of the institution's water panel, also said that while hosepipe bans had been used to cope with this year's drought as a ''short-term fix'', they were not a long-term solution.
''In our view, they should not be a feature of water supply in the UK in the future,'' he said.
Each person in the UK uses an average 150 litres of water a day, (33 gallons), with many more times that amount needed to produce the food, drinks, clothes and other products used each day.
The report from the ICE gives the UK's water security a rating of four out of 10.
Mr Norton said: ''Water security has reached a critical point and we believe the underlying reason for that is we haven't taken a long-term strategic view about planning our water resources in the UK.''
He said water supplies were under pressure from a growing population and the changing climate.
And he warned: ''We think this is set to worsen unless action is taken, because we are still projecting population growth in the UK, especially in the South East and we are yet to see the full impacts of climate change.''
He also said the UK was reliant on water resources in other countries, where supplies were often scarce, to produce food and goods consumed in this country.
The ICE called for a long-term strategic ''roadmap'' to be developed by spring 2014 for managing water resources in the UK up to 2025 to ensure security of supplies.
Comments(37)
geoff51
says...
3:43pm Wed 6 Jun 12
I pay more than enough for the water I get and am now on a meter so I will probably end up paying more for it.
Its about time we were given the option of who we buy our supplies from like gas electic and telephones, the monopoly situation of the water companies is no longer acceptable and competition wil bring down the prices.
Georgem
says...
3:45pm Wed 6 Jun 12
Huffter
says...
3:52pm Wed 6 Jun 12
geoff51 wrote:Who says you can't change your supplier? Simply collect your own water and provide drainage for waste!
I have never heard such unmitigated tosh, the only reason we are short of water is that the water companies have spent S.F.A. on the infrastucture since it was built by the Victorians. All they have done is overcharge us on a ever increasing level to line their pockets and their shareholders. I pay more than enough for the water I get and am now on a meter so I will probably end up paying more for it. Its about time we were given the option of who we buy our supplies from like gas electic and telephones, the monopoly situation of the water companies is no longer acceptable and competition wil bring down the prices.
PS. Try Oxfam for a supplier - have you seen what they can do for an African village?
Condor Man
says...
3:53pm Wed 6 Jun 12
geoff51
says...
3:57pm Wed 6 Jun 12
Huffter wrote:Dont be facecious, ther are no other options on water suppliers.
geoff51 wrote:Who says you can't change your supplier? Simply collect your own water and provide drainage for waste!
I have never heard such unmitigated tosh, the only reason we are short of water is that the water companies have spent S.F.A. on the infrastucture since it was built by the Victorians. All they have done is overcharge us on a ever increasing level to line their pockets and their shareholders. I pay more than enough for the water I get and am now on a meter so I will probably end up paying more for it. Its about time we were given the option of who we buy our supplies from like gas electic and telephones, the monopoly situation of the water companies is no longer acceptable and competition wil bring down the prices.
PS. Try Oxfam for a supplier - have you seen what they can do for an African village?
geoff51
says...
4:01pm Wed 6 Jun 12
Condor Man wrote:So you think that there should be controls on how we use all our utilities? Smacks of a communist state, cue Southy.
We don't need to use drinking water to clean cars, if possible people should buy water butts to store rainwater so they can use it for watering the plants or cleaning the car.
You use what you pay for as you see fit and it is up to the suppliers to provide this, if they cant then get out and let someone that can take over.
loosehead
says...
4:54pm Wed 6 Jun 12
It would cost no more than metering every home .
I use Grey water to flush my Loo as I'm on a meter.
Non meter I would be paying £44 a month for 10 months on a meter they argued with me & I'm paying £30 a month for 10 months.
just had my first statement & I'm using £22 a month so over a year it should be £25 a month but they didn't believe me & wanted to charge £34 either way I'm saving £14 a month at the moment
Condor Man
says...
7:23am Thu 7 Jun 12
geoff51 wrote:Ethically is it right to use drinking water to clean your car or water your lawn? We should be more sensible with our water use. I'd fit a water butt to the cistern supply if I could.
Condor Man wrote:So you think that there should be controls on how we use all our utilities? Smacks of a communist state, cue Southy.
We don't need to use drinking water to clean cars, if possible people should buy water butts to store rainwater so they can use it for watering the plants or cleaning the car.
You use what you pay for as you see fit and it is up to the suppliers to provide this, if they cant then get out and let someone that can take over.
News Fanatic
says...
7:24am Thu 7 Jun 12
dogbruce
says...
7:25am Thu 7 Jun 12
mummsie
says...
7:39am Thu 7 Jun 12
10 Minute Man
says...
8:00am Thu 7 Jun 12
mummsie wrote:No, we should be prosecuting people for the wasteful and unhygienic practice of washing-up by hand. Multiple analyses show the water usage is much lower as is energy use, even with appliance manufacturing.
Charge people for using Dish washers EVERY night is more to the point!!!
But if we're going with draconian measures imposed by the green stalinist ignorati, lets try confiscation of personal property for being ill-informed.
Lord Ikea
says...
8:01am Thu 7 Jun 12
Out of the four houses in my road 2 have 100 litre butts. According to the BBC there are 25 million houses in the UK so if you do the sums there is 12500 million litres of water stored that could be in the system.
Georgem
says...
8:14am Thu 7 Jun 12
mummsie wrote:Did not do the research. If you're interested in cleanliness, or in being green, a dishwasher is a much sounder proposition than your sink.
Charge people for using Dish washers EVERY night is more to the point!!!
bigfella777
says...
8:29am Thu 7 Jun 12
Seedhouse the Unrepentant
says...
8:56am Thu 7 Jun 12
News Fanatic wrote:Yep. They have teams fixing leaks but no long term strategy to replace Victorian pipes and I cannot remember hearing about a new reservoir being planned or built. As you say there is no shortage of water just bad management of it by the water companies.
Water companies keep on complaining that the natural underground sources are depleted but they do little or nothing about it. They should be diverting excess water, such as when there is heavy rain, to the aquifers. At present it flows out to sea. There is plenty of water if it is managed properly.
Rob The Saint NOT in NZ
says...
8:57am Thu 7 Jun 12
An incentive scheme could operate, whereby every householder receives a discount on their water rates until all leaks are fixed. That would certainly concentrate their minds.
rabbitlady
says...
9:01am Thu 7 Jun 12
Fieldbean
says...
9:09am Thu 7 Jun 12
10 Minute Man wrote:The carbon footprint of doing the dishes:
mummsie wrote: Charge people for using Dish washers EVERY night is more to the point!!!No, we should be prosecuting people for the wasteful and unhygienic practice of washing-up by hand. Multiple analyses show the water usage is much lower as is energy use, even with appliance manufacturing. But if we're going with draconian measures imposed by the green stalinist ignorati, lets try confiscation of personal property for being ill-informed.
Almost zero CO2e: by hand in cold water (but the plates aren't clean)
540g CO2e: by hand, using water sparingly and not too hot
770g CO2e: in a dishwasher at 55°C
990g CO2e: in a dishwasher at 65°C
8000g CO2e: by hand, with extravagant use of water
If we weren't wrecking the environment then perhaps we would have more water for everyone.
Maine Lobster
says...
9:37am Thu 7 Jun 12
YankeeDoodle
says...
9:51am Thu 7 Jun 12
Then the water company would only remove poo, soap and bacteria from the drain water so it can be returned to the environment safely. The non-contaminated drain water could be mildly treated and retired to the customer as non-potable water for gardens and flushing toilets.
ohec
says...
10:13am Thu 7 Jun 12
Linesman
says...
10:22am Thu 7 Jun 12
Like virtually every publicly owned service that was sold off, the service has deteriorated and the price has increased.
If the water companies were to pay as much attention to the needs of its customers as it does to the greed of its shareholders, we would see a great improvement.
Richard 51
says...
11:22am Thu 7 Jun 12
good-gosh
says...
11:41am Thu 7 Jun 12
A two tier tariff would provide basic volumes at low cost, and would deter extra use by applying a higher charge for volumes above basic needs.
And the use of rain water for WC flushing is sensible providing the water is treated – somewhat impractical for one single house but sensible for a group of buildings and easy to design into a group of new buildings.
bazzeroz
says...
11:59am Thu 7 Jun 12
loosehead
says...
12:31pm Thu 7 Jun 12
Condor Man wrote:There is a system you can install that takes all shower,bath washing water & washing machine,dishwasher & sink water pumps it into storage containers & has rainwater running into it so diluting it.
geoff51 wrote:Ethically is it right to use drinking water to clean your car or water your lawn? We should be more sensible with our water use. I'd fit a water butt to the cistern supply if I could.
Condor Man wrote:So you think that there should be controls on how we use all our utilities? Smacks of a communist state, cue Southy.
We don't need to use drinking water to clean cars, if possible people should buy water butts to store rainwater so they can use it for watering the plants or cleaning the car.
You use what you pay for as you see fit and it is up to the suppliers to provide this, if they cant then get out and let someone that can take over.
this is then pumped to your cistern for flushing the Loo & you can use it to water your garden.
Up to September most people ( private homes) can get free Solar panels this saves money on power bills helps power the pumps so you can save on your water & electricity bills.
I haven't got a dishwasher but if you have & you have one of those systems the Water companies say do your washing up once a day in the dishwasher & you'll use less water & electricity/power
sass
says...
1:51pm Thu 7 Jun 12
In Bermuda, houses collect rainwater from the roof in cisterns for use for everything. Rain is pure distilled water, no chemicals required.
southy
says...
1:58pm Thu 7 Jun 12
geoff51 wrote:You still get charge for taking waste water away, you can't win while its in private hands.
Huffter wrote:Dont be facecious, ther are no other options on water suppliers.
geoff51 wrote:Who says you can't change your supplier? Simply collect your own water and provide drainage for waste!
I have never heard such unmitigated tosh, the only reason we are short of water is that the water companies have spent S.F.A. on the infrastucture since it was built by the Victorians. All they have done is overcharge us on a ever increasing level to line their pockets and their shareholders. I pay more than enough for the water I get and am now on a meter so I will probably end up paying more for it. Its about time we were given the option of who we buy our supplies from like gas electic and telephones, the monopoly situation of the water companies is no longer acceptable and competition wil bring down the prices.
PS. Try Oxfam for a supplier - have you seen what they can do for an African village?
Some thing else also, Those with meters are not charge £1 per day unlimited they are charge to the amount they use, also if you have an out side tap and that includes one in sheds or garages you are charge extra for having a tap out side.
southy
says...
2:02pm Thu 7 Jun 12
sass wrote:hummm Acid rain, rain water is not pure as you think, its clean enough after an hour down pour but the first hour tends to be mix with any thing that is in the air.
First, outlaw bathtubs. Only showers permitted. Dishwashers should only be used when they are full, every three or four days.
In Bermuda, houses collect rainwater from the roof in cisterns for use for everything. Rain is pure distilled water, no chemicals required.
Georgem
says...
2:47pm Thu 7 Jun 12
sass wrote:How do you police any of this?
First, outlaw bathtubs. Only showers permitted. Dishwashers should only be used when they are full, every three or four days.
In Bermuda, houses collect rainwater from the roof in cisterns for use for everything. Rain is pure distilled water, no chemicals required.
loosehead
says...
4:03pm Thu 7 Jun 12
Georgem wrote:Stop providing drinking water through the taps & make them use big bottles of water for drinking.
sass wrote:How do you police any of this?
First, outlaw bathtubs. Only showers permitted. Dishwashers should only be used when they are full, every three or four days.
In Bermuda, houses collect rainwater from the roof in cisterns for use for everything. Rain is pure distilled water, no chemicals required.
Tap water would be okay for all other purposes but not to drink.
Many countries already do this
Solent Lass
says...
5:03am Sat 30 Jun 12
mummsie wrote:Dishwasher is cheaper and more hygienic and if you cook your own meals you need clean dishes. I keep a bowl in the sink to catch water which would go down the sink for watering plants. Came in handy yesterday when we had no water for several hours to flush the loo. Came unstuck with drinking water as kettle was only partly filled - poor husband had to go to his club for a drink lol
Charge people for using Dish washers EVERY night is more to the point!!!
Solent Lass
says...
5:03am Sat 30 Jun 12
mummsie wrote:Dishwasher is cheaper and more hygienic and if you cook your own meals you need clean dishes. I keep a bowl in the sink to catch water which would go down the sink for watering plants. Came in handy yesterday when we had no water for several hours to flush the loo. Came unstuck with drinking water as kettle was only partly filled - poor husband had to go to his club for a drink lol
Charge people for using Dish washers EVERY night is more to the point!!!
Solent Lass
says...
5:04am Sat 30 Jun 12
mummsie wrote:Dishwasher is cheaper and more hygienic and if you cook your own meals you need clean dishes. I keep a bowl in the sink to catch water which would go down the sink for watering plants. Came in handy yesterday when we had no water for several hours to flush the loo. Came unstuck with drinking water as kettle was only partly filled - poor husband had to go to his club for a drink lol
Charge people for using Dish washers EVERY night is more to the point!!!
Solent Lass
says...
5:18am Sat 30 Jun 12
mummsie wrote:Dishwasher uses less water - as I cook from fresh daily I need clean pots and pans - could only not use the dishwasher if we lived on takeaways and ready prepared meals - which are worse for the environment, our health and pocket.
Charge people for using Dish washers EVERY night is more to the point!!!
A bowl in sink catches water and is saved for watering plants - came in handy to flush loo yesterday when our water supply was off in our area for several hours. Came unstuck as only had 1/4 filled kettle - poor husband was so thirsty he had to go to his club for a drink lol
Metered water ensures one thinks carefully before wasting a drop.
Huffter says...
3:34pm Wed 6 Jun 12