The Independent has revealed that the water police will not be knocking on your door or confiscating your hosepipe as major water companies have said they will not issue any fines in England.
Fines normally can be as high as £1,000, but South West Water, Southern Water, Yorkshire Water and Thames Water actually do not have any legal power to fine anyone.
However, people can be prosecuted, and water companies can issue a £100 fixed penalty notice to those who are caught.
Water companies will instead rely on public goodwill and there have been very good campaigns urging households to save water.
James Wallace, CEO of campaign group River Action told the Independent it would be wrong to concentrate on “threatening customers with £1,000 fines for watering their gardens” as water companies are guilty of losing billions of litres daily.
He added that “Voluntary measures and public awareness aren’t enough,” and warned there needs to be “real enforcement, aimed at water companies, and bold structural reform” to tackle worsening drought risks.
“No new reservoirs have been built in over 30 years, despite clear climate warnings about worsening droughts.”
Paul de Zylva, sustainability analyst at Friends of the Earth, said that hosepipe bans are purely a “sticking plaster solution to a problem that is only going to get worse.”
“Recent heatwaves only add to drought conditions, making it harder for everyone – not least hospitals, care homes, farmers and transport operators – to cope,” he added.
A spokesperson from Yorkshire Water said, “Whilst we do have the power to enforce the restrictions and have a process to deal with those breaching it, we would prefer not to have to use this and would hope customers would work with us and respect the restrictions, recognising it’s been put in place to protect essential supplies.
“The response so far has been brilliant, and we’ve seen demand coming down.”
