WFH? Your fault..

[SueEllen]

there is not enough water.

There wasn't enough water in last winter either so it isn't the weather.

This water company are:



https://www.theguardian.com/environm...r-hosepipe-ban

A water company has blamed more people working from home post-pandemic for a new hosepipe ban.
South East Water, which supplies more than 2m homes and businesses, will impose the first hosepipe ban of the summer on Monday, affecting households across Kent and Sussex.

The company’s chief executive, David Hinton, said that people working from home was a “key factor” behind the ban, as it has “increased drinking water demand”.

[NotAllThere]

Of course. Because in the office we drink bottled water.

[SueEllen]

Meanwhile in the Thames Water area where most of these people used to commute to the water company is going to miss it leak repair targets and customers have received emails telling them to use water wisely.


Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environm...rs-foi-reveals and the email I received 2 days ago.

[xoggoth]

Must be hard for the water companies to keep up with all the new houses in the South East. On me walks or in the local news always seeing ongoing/recent builds or planning applications. Just in my village there's an application for 108 new houses at bottom of my road, another 8 just been approved not far away, and a nice area of open access woodland 2 minutes from my house was built over a few years ago.

[SueEllen]

Must be hard for the water companies to keep up with all the new houses in the South East.

I would feel sympathy for them except I live in an area were they have been imposing water meters on everyone, and there have been massive leaks which take them a minimum of 2 weeks to fix every single time. So you see this water flooding a road for 2-4 weeks while there is a hose pipe ban.

They also screw up everyone with their bills regardless of how you are billed. I've been chased for months for a bill I paid. Then I discovered the next year I had paid it twice before they had started to chase me. One of my siblings on a meter was given estimated bills far higher than than their households actual usage.

And then there is the issue of them discharging sewage into water ways which means you can't go on a day to the seaside or go in rivers as you will be paddling, swimming or surfing in raw sewage. People and dogs have become very ill because of it. And if you are an angular forget it.

[sadkingbilly]

. And if you are an angular forget it.

tri, or rect ??

[JustKeepSwimming]

Must be hard for the water companies to keep up with all the new houses in the South East. On me walks or in the local news always seeing ongoing/recent builds or planning applications. Just in my village there's an application for 108 new houses at bottom of my road, another 8 just been approved not far away, and a nice area of open access woodland 2 minutes from my house was built over a few years ago.

1991 was when the last major reservoir was built.. I think it's a mixture of short term profit-ism from the privatised companies and failure from Government to not scrutinise future planning.

See it every time with privatised nationalised industries. They don't have to think about the future as much because they know the taxpayer must underwrite them.

[xoggoth]

My local councillor, who knows a bit about planning permissions, told me that in some countries the availability of things like utilities, transport, schools, surgeries etc. are major considerations from the start. In the UK they just build and worry about those things later.

[JustKeepSwimming]

My local councillor, who knows a bit about planning permissions, told me that in some countries the availability of things like utilities, transport, schools, surgeries etc. are major considerations from the start. In the UK they just build and worry about those things later.

They do it arse about face. The developer is told as condition of their planning permission to build infrastructure, schools, libraries, surgeries, parks etc. Then you end up with the developer claiming it's no longer economically viable to build them all (or the affordable housing) and demand a change in the planning permission.

What the council should be able to do is put a surcharge on each sale and use that to fund the infrastructure themselves.

Well the real issue is the stupid notion that council has to pay post planning permission value of any land they wish to build on. We wouldn't have these issues if the council could buy worthless land, grant itself planning permission and then build what's needed.

[NigelJK]

Isn't that what did for Croydon? (Over and above basic incompetence)