I was dismayed, when reading your article about hosepipe bans leading to culture wars (‘People are scared their neighbours will call the police on them’: how the hosepipe ban got caught up in the culture wars, 23 July), by the part that said: “Why has the ban been put in place, anyway? The answer, as with so many things, is the climate crisis.”
No, it’s not. The climate crisis is only part of the answer, and probably the smaller part. The privatised water companies have, over many years, privileged the lining of their own pockets over proper maintenance and improvement of the water systems, a fact which has been revealed again and again in your own pages.
As a result, hosepipe bans are needed far more often than they would be if we were just looking at climate change as a cause. Indeed, the article goes on to reflect some of these sentiments, but they come from the gardeners who were interviewed.
If we go on referencing climate change and “unusual conditions” to excuse the despicable behaviour of the water companies, we are colluding in their great fiction.
Gillian Metheringham
Stroud, Gloucestershire
The key to the issue of hosepipe bans being needed is surely the privatisation of the water companies. They extract huge sums in dividends for their owners – largely investment funds not based in the UK – while failing to live up to their responsibility to maintain the water supply network. Ofwat has no effective powers of enforcement, it seems.
The new prime minister should consider imposing a very large tax burden on water company shareholders to fund the replacement of old pipes and the building of new reservoirs. Our water bills are the highest they’ve ever been, our need for water is greater than ever, but leaky pipes are causing a water shortage.
As for datacentres, they should never be allowed to take priority over such a fundamental human need. If artificial intelligence is so important, let the techies find another way to cool their servers.
Dr Gillian Austen
Bath
I was disappointed that your article on hosepipe bans did not mention the exemption for golf courses and car washes. What madness allows hundreds of thousands of litres to be used to water barren areas of golf courses and keep a car clean?
I want to keep my flowers and vegetables alive, for the insects and for food. Allotments should have exemptions, as should wildflower meadows and ponds for wildlife. Why should I be concerned about a golf course? I am seriously worried about the neglect of our natural world and those who live in it.
Christine Pedder
St Albans
It was sad to read about disabled people taking flak for hosepipe rules that have been in place for decades, and people lamenting lost plants. But we gardeners have a big responsibility to reduce water use. Harvest rain – our many water butts lasted until last week; use a bowl to reuse washing up and rinsing water from your sinks; be selective in deciding which plants to water; mulch! And if a plant dies, replace it with a drought-resistant alternative.
Graham Jack
Harrow, London
If water company bosses don’t adhere to the spirit as well as the letter of the ban on bonuses, don’t expect me to stick to the ban on hosepipes (Water bosses’ pay rises despite bonus ban and public fury over bills and pollution, 24 July).
Toby Wood
Peterborough
