In a borough which endures more than its fair share of burst pipes and water shortages, could we soon see a hosepipe ban?
Hosepipe bans | Another day, another extreme weather alert. As the Met Office issued a four-day amber warning for heatwave conditions in parts of England and Wales, Thames Water announced it is planning to introduce a hosepipe ban “in the coming weeks” in the face of the long-term forecast. Check on the details of restrictions in your area. The UK is not alone in experiencing water shortages.
Here at the Waverley Web, we suggest you fill up your water butts pronto, stock up on back-pain medication in readiness for carrying heavy watering cans and do a bit of this…
Thames Water has one of the worst records on leaks in the country, losing around 600 million litres a day – around 24 per cent of its supply – prompting warnings on Tuesday that a hosepipe ban could be ignored by customers.
The WW can absolutely understand why somebody would ask why they would face a fine of £1,000 when Thames Water is leaking hundreds of millions of water a day from its creaking network.
We say – fine the drips in water companies for their failures. S far failing to increase capacity, and dealing with burst pipes and sewage leaks has resulted in piddling little fines. We should all be given a rebate on our bills if there is a hosepipe ban or if sewage is discharged into our rivers and streams.
As for the CEO’s bonus – scrap it – as so many other companies have done in the past couple of years!
Thames Water’s CEO Sarah Bentley’s basic pay is £3/4m and a maximum bonus of 120% of salary and a long-term incentive plan with an annual award of up to a maximum of 200% of salary
Some of the salaries and bonuses enjoyed by water bosses are simply, vulgar.
We are capturing water from our shower as it heats up – it’s amazing how much we get in a bucket – which then goes in our water butt for future use – water butt currently being empty!
Some water companies have the nerve to boast about exceeding their water leakage targets, which are set by Ofcom. This is only made possible because of the piddling targets they are set in the first place. e.g. 16% reduction for the five year period 2020-25 rising to 50% by 2050 (28 years from now!)
The UK has plenty of water, but its in the wrong place. So an industry-wide body was set up to explore ways of moving water around different parts of the country. Nothing to report there yet, and guess what this new body (set up 3 yrs ago) is called? RAPID (yes ladies and gentlemen, you couldn’t make it up)
WW wonders how much all those employed in the ‘Industry-wide body’ are being paid. Yes, you really couldn’t make it up!
A bonus is a sum of money added to a person’s wages as a reward for good performance. It is impossible to see how water company CEOs merit a bonus in the current drought. They have dumped sewage into the rivers and failed to build new reservoirs despite warnings that climate change will disrupt weather patterns.
Water is a regulated monopoly. The Government has a duty to intervene and prevent CEOs being rewarded for their poor performance, otherwise they will repeat it.
Ah! Cllr Edmonds – the big question is? When will the Government intervene to prevent CEO’s being rewarded for their poor performance? Because until it does – the gravy rain will keep on running.